Impossible Love
by Xealvi
Summary: Vaughn wants nothing more than to forget his past, and guard his broken heart. But when his past comes back to haunt him and he begins to fall in love again, will he be able to survive all the drama, complications and disasters that occur?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon and any other related characters/themes. This whole story will be from Vaughn's POV. Unfortunately I do not own Vaughn either. *sighs* So hot. *shakes head* Anyway, R & R!**

**Prologue**

I sigh as I walk down the dark alley to my apartment. My job here in the city was going to kill me one day. It's not that I didn't like it; it's that the hours were so long I would die from lack of sleep.

The sound of a fight echoes in the alley. I know that no one is going to attack me though. When I first moved here I had established a reputation for being tough, so that gangs left me alone. Just to be on the safe side, I keep a knife in my boots.

I reach the door to my apartment, and quickly glance around me before I pull out a key I had hidden in a flower pot on my window sill. It was a better hiding spot than under the door matt. And there was no way I could bring it to work without losing it.

Once inside, I lock the door behind me. Better to take no chances. I flip the light switch and instantaneously, my apartment is flooded with light.

The room is extremely plain. White walls, wooded floor and regular furniture that you would find in any house. There were no decorations and no pictures hanging on the wall, although I did have a clock on the wall above the small kitchen. I did have a small bedroom, but I preferred to sleep on the couch. My bedroom has too many unpleasant memories for me.

An unexpected yawn escapes my lips, startling myself. I rub my eyes beneath my cowboy hat as I thank my lucky stars that I didn't have work tomorrow or the next day.

I head over to my couch. Right beside it I had a change of clothes, although they looked exactly the same as the ones I was currently wearing.

Another yawn escapes my lips and I wish I could just fall on the couch and sleep for a week. I rub my eyes again, and make a mental note to splash water on my face in a minute.

I take off my hat, and place it on the coffee table next to the couch. My eyes linger on it for a second after I brush my silver hair out of my eyes. The cowboy hat was brown and had a purple sash around the brim of it. Unconsciously, I scowl. I should have taken that off my now, but I just couldn't.

Turning away from the hat, I begin to take off the rest of my clothes off. My brown vest is the first to go, followed by my white ascot and black button down long sleeve shirt. They're all thrown in a pile by themselves, and I make a mental note to myself to have them washed soon.

I remove my black fingerless gloves, my brown belt and my brown cowboy boots next. My co-workers always made fun of me for dressing like a cowboy (when they did talk to me) but I just ignored them. The way I dressed reminded me of when I was little. I've always loved the country more than the city anyway.

All I have left on is my black pants, but I'll leave them on until I actually go to sleep. Unhurried, I head over to the kitchen sink and splash water on my face. I come up spluttering, but I recover.

Now that I was more awake, I head over to my telephone to see if I had any messages. As I walk there, I pass a mirror.

I pause to look at my reflection. My body looked fine, I guess. I had some muscle from dealing with animals all the time, but I didn't mind. My stupid silver hair made me look older than my 24 years and it hung down to my chin. I should probably get a haircut.

Then I look at my eyes. They were a deep shade of violet. I scowl at them; I had been teased because of them very often. It was an unnatural colour to find in someone's eyes, and unfortunately the colour was real. I hated my eyes.

A quick look at the clock told me that it was a little before midnight. I sigh as I go by the phone, not expecting there to be any messages. However, my attention is drawn to a little blinking red light.

My attention is caught. I almost never got calls. Next to no one had my number anyway. Curious, I click the button to hear the message.

A woman's voice comes on the line. _"Good Evening Vaughn. It's Mirabelle."_

A second voice butts in. _"And Julia!"_

I smile slightly to myself. Mirabelle was my aunt and Julia was my cousin. They had taken me in after my parents had died. My smile vanishes after the last thought. I didn't like thinking about that time of my life. Quickly I redirect my attention to the message.

Mirabelle was speaking again. _"Anyway Vaughn. We just settled on this adorable little island called Sunshine Island. There aren't very many people here right now, but it's coming along nicely."_

Julia's voice cuts in. I almost smile. That girl was as nice as nice could be, but she could get so impatient. _"Vaughn, we want you to come here and be the Island's animal dealer!"_

Mirabelle shushes her in the background. I have to sit down on a stool as she continues. _"Yes Vaughn. We would like you to come to the Island and be our animal dealer. I understand that you get Wednesday's and Thursday's off. You could come to the island on those days and then go back to your regular job afterwards. I've heard you need a little extra money too, and we'd be more than happy to pay you."_

Julia comes in. _"There's this little farm here that this girl Chelsea is taking over. Eventually she's going to want to buy animals, and Mirabelle and I set up and animal shop. So it'd be great if you could come!"_

Mirabelle comes back on as the message finishes. _"We'd really appreciate it Vaughn. Take your time to think about it, and then get back to us."_

She leaves her number and then both of them bid me goodbye. The message ends.

I lean back in the stool. It was Tuesday today, so I could leave in the morning on a boat there. I'm sure I could get a short notice ticket. There wouldn't be many people going there anyway.

My regular job was taking care of animals at an animal dealer shop. All the people that worked there sold animals to at least one person. My boss was always urging me to find someone to sell animals to. So this would be a good idea.

Plus, Mirabelle said that it was an island that wasn't very populated. That meant there would be lots of open space. I could finally get away from the city, even if it was only for two days of the week.

I almost smile to myself. Even though it was late at night, I wanted to let them know my decision. Checking back to the message, I dial the number Mirabelle had left for me.

After a few rings, an annoyed voice comes on the line. _"Who is this? Do you know it's just before midnight?"_

I almost laugh. I could tell it was Julia. She sounded pissed. "It's Vaughn."

She perks up immediately. _"Vaughn! It's great to hear from you! Did you get our message we left? What do you think?"_

"I'll be there in the morning." I say and hang up the phone.

**That's just a little intro to get the story started. As a reminder, this will all be from Vaughn's POV and I'm sorry if some of the people seem out of character a bit. The main characters should be in character but I haven't played the game in a long time(my sister stole it and won't give it back). But aside from that, I will do my best, and I hope you enjoy it! Read and Review!  
**


	2. The Island's Inhabitants

**The Island's Inhabitants**

Only six hours later, I'm on a boat heading for Sunshine Island. I had called my boss after calling Julia and he said it was a great idea. He sounded really pleased, and was glad I was getting out of the city for a while. He was one of the few people that actually cared about me a bit.

Sea spray spews in my face, but I don't mind. It felt really refreshing. I was up on the dock by myself. All the crew was working and the only other person on the boat was going to a different island. Surprisingly, it hadn't cost me much for a ticket.

The sea breeze blows in my face. I close my eyes and let the wind caress my features. I loved the wind. It seemed to fit right in with the country. Although I had to admit that I hated rain; I could stand sea spray.

Suddenly an Island comes into view. I pull my hat farther over my eyes as we approach. As we dock, I sigh gently. I knew that someone would be there to greet me, and that would involve talking to people. Knowing my cousin, she'd want to introduce me to everyone on the island.

One of the crew members calls for me and I get off the boat. I nod at him as thanks and then they depart, telling me they'd be back at 11pm on Thursday night to pick me up.

I turn around when I'm suddenly caught in a huge hug. My eyes widen and I pull my hat closer over my eyes. Roughly I push Julia off of me.

She smiles, as cheery as I remember her. "Vaughn, it's great to see you! I don't think I've seen you since you were a senior in high school."

Julia's blond hair fell around her face like a waterfall. Her face was bright and happy as always. She was two years younger than me, but she looked like she was six years younger. I notice that her clothes are still a tad bit revealing, but not so much that it was unpleasant.

I nod at her. She sighs slightly and then turns to a girl I hadn't noticed before. "Chelsea, this is my cousin Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer here."

The girl walks up to me with a smile on her face. I notice that her cheeks are slightly flushed. I wonder what for.

She sticks out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm the farmer here."

I take her hand and shake it as I observe her. She had vibrant brown hair that looked slightly orange the sunlight. She was dressed sensibly for farming. T-shirt, vest, shorts, sneakers and a rucksack all adorned her person. There was also a red bandana she had wrapped around her head, and it reminded me of the purple one on my hat.

Unconsciously I scowl at the thought. Her beautiful blue eyes crease in confusion and she drops my hand.

I wish I could kick myself. It wasn't like I tried to be mean. It just worked out that way.

"So you're interested in animals?" I ask gruffly.

She brightens again at my comment. "Yeah I am. Actually, I was just about to go ask Gannon of he could build me a chicken coup and then Julia dragged me down here to meet you."

I nod and pull my hat closer over my eyes. She had been staring at me, and I just knew she must be thinking what a freak I was for having purple eyes.

"Well, I should teach you how to take care of them. I don't want to sell an animal that will die within a week."

She gives me a shocked look. "I won't kill the chicken!"

I could kick myself again. That wasn't what I meant. I was really bad with words. "Not on purpose."

She glares at me. "I'm not going to kill any of my animals!"

I shrug, unable to think of anything else to say. It was probably best. She seemed to get madder and madder with everything I said.

"So…" Julia interrupts the awkward silence. "Chelsea, you want to introduce Vaughn to everyone on the island?"

Chelsea doesn't completely perk up, but she gives Julia a smile. "Sure Jules."

Julia begins to walk away but Chelsea stops her. Chelsea begins to whisper to her, but I can hear. "Is he always like this?"

Julia glances at me. "Like what?"

"Mean and kind of silent."

Julia sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You have to understand Chelsea. He's had a very painful past. I think it's made him bitter. And he's always been quiet. It's just who he is."

Chelsea's voice drops a bit and I can't catch what she says. Julia's face looks like she's going to hurl at whatever she said. "Ew, that's gross Chelsea."

She shrugs, but I can see that she's blushing. Julia rolls her eyes and leaves. Chelsea walks back over to me, her face still a little rosy.

"So." She starts. "You ready?"

I nod and pull my hat farther over my eyes. I had a feeling that whatever she had said had been about me.

We start walking along the beach. I wish I could take off my boots for a minute and feel the sand beneath my feet, but the feeling passes quickly.

She stops at a little shack on the far side of the beach and raps her knuckles on the door. "Denny! Come out, I need you to meet someone!"

She raps her knuckles a few more times and then she stops. The door opens and a boy appears. His skin was slightly browned and very tan. He had brown curly hair and smiling brown eyes. There was a necklace around his neck with a shark's tooth attached. A small parrot was on his shoulder, and I could see fishing rods in his house.

The boy also had a purple bandana on his head. I pull my hat over my eyes tighter, and I scowl. His smile falters for a second, and I nearly roll my eyes. At this rate, I was going to offend every person on this island.

"Denny." Chelsea starts. "This is Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

Denny smiles and stick out his hand. "Nice to metcha man. I'm the local fisherman here. With an island like this, there's bound to be plenty of undiscovered fish."

I take his hand and shake it briefly. When I let go, I nod my head slightly. Denny nods back and doesn't say anything else. I almost smile. He could be a friend.

"So Chelsea." He turns to her and then leans against his door frame. "How's the fishing going?"

She groans. "Denny, you know that I am awful at fishing. Besides, it's still spring. I have crops to tend to!"

Denny chuckles. "I guess so. But eventually you're going to need those fishing skills. When winter comes around you're not going to be able to raise crops."

Chelsea points a finger at him. "But until then, I don't need to fish."

He rolls his eyes. "Well, since you've now waken me up at the ungodly hour of six in the morning, I'm might as well go fishing."

Denny grabs a fishing rod that must have been right beside his door. He closes his door behind him. "Well, see ya later Chelsea." He nods at me. "Vaughn."

I nod back and he heads off to the dock, his parrot squawking at him. Chelsea chuckles as we begin walking again. "Denny's really nice and can be pretty funny. Although we try not to let it get to his head."

We leave the beach and come to a wide open grass area. There were a few building, but there wasn't much there.

Suddenly a voice calls out. "I'm going to kill you Elliot!"

Another voice calls back. "It was an accident Natalie!"

There was a surprised scream from the guy that made me wince. Then two people come running out of one of the houses.

The boy is running from the girl and when he sees Chelsea, he runs over to her and hides behind her.

The girl comes over and she has milk all down her front. Her brown eyes flash in anger. "Chelsea, let me get to him! I've finally had enough with him!"

"It was an accident!" The boy Elliot repeats.

They both have red hair that looked almost pink. The boy had round dorky glasses on and a weird green apron thing on. He also had a blue t-shirt, suspenders and light blue shorts on. Talk about out of style clothing.

The girl had a green t-shirt and navy pants on. There was a yellow apron tied around her waist. She also had a red bandana on. What was with this island and bandanas? I would probably end up cussing someone out for it later.

"What happened Natalie?" Chelsea asks the girl.

"The clumsy idiot spilled milk down my shirt!" Natalie cries.

"I'm sure it was an accident." Chelsea tries to calm her.

"That's what I keep telling her!" Elliot confirms.

Her rage seems to simmer down a bit. "Fine. But do it again and I'll have your head."

Elliot finally comes out from behind Chelsea. "I'll try." He tells her.

"Who's this?" Natalie finally notices me.

"Oh." Chelsea gaps. It seems like she's forgotten about me in the argument too. "This is Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

I couldn't help but notice the slight blush in Elliot's face when Chelsea's name. That's interesting. I wondered if Julia liked him too. He didn't seem like her type.

"Vaughn." Chelsea turns to me. "This is Natalie and Elliot. They're siblings. Their mother and grandfather live with them."

I shake each of their hands in turn. They look at me funny and I pull down my hat again. Desperately, I wish I could go look at the animals. People bug me so much.

Suddenly an old man and a woman come out of the same house the other two had. The woman had the same colour hair as her children. I couldn't tell what colour her eyes were. She wore a pretty brown and yellow dress.

The old man was bald but had busy white eyebrows and a mustache that was just as bushy. He clutched a gnarled walking stick with hands covered by white gloves. He wore a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans as well as a red ascot that hung loosely around his neck.

"Chelsea it's so lovely to see you this morning." The woman says when they come within earshot.

"Good morning Felicia. Good morning Taro." Chelsea greets them warmly. "I'd like you to meet Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

They both shake my hand. "It's great to meet you." Felicia gushes. She smiles at me, and I pull my hat down.

"My tricky knee tells me it's going to be sunny tomorrow." Taro says.

Chelsea smiles. "Thanks Taro. I'll have a lot of watering to do."

He nods. "You all better get back inside and finish your breakfast."

Natalie grumbles about having to change her clothes as they all head back to their house. Elliot waves back to Chelsea before going back inside.

I raise my eyebrows but Chelsea doesn't notice. "They're really nice. Natalie gets angry very easily, but she can be very sweet. She actually loves her brother but she has a weird way of showing it."

She shakes her head and looks at me. "What did you think of them?"

I'm surprised she asked for my opinion. "Is that everyone?"

Her eyebrows crease. "No, I was just wondering. They were the first people here, along with me. We were shipwrecked on this island together. But we all love it a lot."

I nod, but don't give her an answer. She sighs. "Taro is a bit of an odd character, but he's a good person to go to for advice. Felicia is a very motherly type of person, and Elliot…"Chelsea trails off.

She snorts and continues. "Elliot is a klutz. And I'm pretty sure he has a huge crush on Julia. We're pretty good friends."

Did she mean she was good friends with Julia, or Elliot? Just from her attitude, she probably was good friends with everyone on the island. They all seemed to respect her and enjoy her company. Almost the exact opposite of myself.

"So, you ready for the rest?" She looks up at me.

Her face was actually really beautiful. I quickly pull my hat down and nod at her. She nods back and walks over to another house. This one was a little finer built. Chelsea knocks on the door twice and then waits.

A huge man opens the door. My eyes widen in surprise. This man was hunched over and wore only shorts and a white muscle shirt, but he looked like he could kill me if he got the chance. His biceps were bigger than my head and hat combined.

"Chelsea." He grunts.

"Morning Gannon." She smiles at him. "I want you to meet Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

Gannon shakes my hand and I quickly release his before my bones turn to jelly. He had quite the handshake.

"Gannon, I was wondering if you could build me a chicken coop. I have enough money." Chelsea pulls some money out of her pocket and I'm reminded of what she told me earlier.

Gannon takes the money. "It'll be done tomorrow."

"Daddy!" A high pitched voice calls out.

A little girl appears in the doorway. She had wavy blond hair and exotic aqua eyes. She had a red and yellow dress on and a red bow in her hair. She didn't look like Gannon's daughter at all.

She notices me. "Hey Mr. Cowboy. Are you Chelsea's boyfriend?"

My eyes widen and I pull my hat over my face to hide the blushing I could feel. This little comment made me blush more than I had in years.

Chelsea's face was pure scarlet. "N-no Eliza. He's n-not my b-boyfriend."

I smiled slightly beneath my hat. Her stuttering was really cute. She continues in a steady voice. "This is Vaughn and he's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

"Is he Julia's boyfriend?" The little girl asks.

I nearly gag right there. Chelsea is at a loss for words. Quickly I speak up; because I was pretty sure she didn't know the answer.

"She's my cousin."

The little girl, Eliza, looks at me thoughtfully. "Well you're pretty cute."

I was horrified. Gannon speaks up. "Alright young lady. You're going inside now."

Gannon quickly ushers her inside. Just before the door closes, she calls out. "Remember Chelsea, if you want beauty tips, just come ask!"

The closes and I stare at it. My face has regained its stoic look, but a glance at Chelsea shows her red face.

She takes a deep breath before speaking. "Sorry about that. Eliza is a bit full of herself. Gannon is pretty nice, and he works really hard."

Her face has gained its regular composition. "Okay, there are only two more people on the island."

I nod and take a step back. She gives me a weird look and I gesture for her to lead the way. A smile lights up her face, and I almost wish I could take a picture.

I walk beside her to a house just a little while away. This one is done up nicely and looks like it had been recently remodeled.

She knocks on the door a couple times, when the door opens to a small Asian boy. He had brown eyes and messy black hair. He wore a professional looking outfit, though it looked loose enough to play in. He had a brown bandana wrapped around his head.

Chelsea leans down. "Good morning Charlie."

"Morning lady." The boy replies.

"Charlie, this is Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

Charlie looks up at me with bright eyes. "Can you get me to see a sheep mister? I love their fur."

Chelsea smiles at him. "Maybe later Charlie. Vaughn is very busy. Can you get your dad for us please?"

He smiles. "Sure lady."

Charlie rushes off into the house and Chelsea stands up. An Asian man comes to the door. He had black hair like his son, and he wore a traditional purple Asian suit. He also had a brown bandana around his head.

"Good morning Chen." Chelsea smiles at him.

He smiles back at her. "Good morning Chelsea. How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you Chen. I'd like you to meet Vaughn. He's going to be the animal dealer for Mirabelle and Julia."

He shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you son. You ever need anything, be sure to come around and get it."

I nod to him. He nods back and turns to Chelsea. "Well, I have to go fix Charlie breakfast. I'll see you later."

"Bye Chen." Chelsea says as he closes the door.

She turns to me. "Chen owns a little shop. He's always very concerned with his work. Charlie wants to grow up to be just like his dad one day."

I nod slightly and she smiles. "Well that's everybody. What did you think?"

I'm surprised again. I still can't believe she was asking me for my opinion. "Fine."

"Alright. You want me to walk you to Mirabelle's?" She looks up at me, and her face is slightly red.

"I can find the way." I tell her gruffly.

She stiffens and her face betrays her hurt. "Okay then."

Chelsea and I stand there awkwardly for a minute. Then she speaks up. "Well, you want to come over tomorrow? I still need to learn how to take care of a chicken. And Gannon will be done with my coop tomorrow."

I nod at her. "Fine."

She smiles at me slightly and then walks off into a direction I assume is the way to her farm. I watch her walk for a minute and then turn to the only house in the area that we hadn't gone to, obviously Mirabelle and Julia's.

**That's it for the first chapter! Sorry it's so long. I don't think the rest will be this long. Maybe. I'm not sure yet. Has anyone ever noticed that neither Felicia nor Chen ever open their eyes? That's kind of weird. How do they know where they're going? Anyway, hope you liked it! I'm going to try and update soon. Please Read and review!**


	3. Chicken Lesson

**Chicken Lesson**

The next morning I wake up and I'm confused by my surroundings. After blinking my eyes a few times I remember where I was. Mirabelle and Julia had let me sleep in the spare room of their house. All the events of yesterday come back to me as I sit up in the bed.

I stretch my back and pull on a shirt. Almost groggily, I head to the kitchen for breakfast. As I reach the kitchen I hear someone enter the store. The kitchen was right beside the main room, so I couldn't enter without being spotted.

I sigh gently. I'm about to steel myself and head in there, but then I hear the conversation going on.

"Morning Jules" Chelsea says.

Julia was up at six in the morning? Wow things have changed.

"Morning Chelsea. How're you?"

"Fine. A little tired though."

"Oh? How come?"

It takes her a second to respond. I guess that she had shrugged, but I can't see her. "I don't know. It's a lot of work. I'm not used to doing this much physical exercise."

Julia laughs. "Better not tell Vaughn that. He'll chew you out for not being tough."

I frown. Did I really do that? I did yell at Julia once when she was lying on the couch after doing only two push ups, but she deserved it.

Chelsea doesn't say anything to that. Julia speaks up. "So what do you think of him? Did he actually say something to you while you were showing him around yesterday?"

My interest perks. I'm not entirely sure why. Chelsea doesn't say anything and I wish I could see her expression.

Finally she does speak. "He can be nice when he wants."

Julia gasps and in my mind I can see her shocked expression. "He was actually nice to you?"

I scowl again. I didn't think I was that mean. Maybe my words messed up more often than I thought.

"Well he was mean too." Chelsea adds. "But he was very gracious."

"My cousin. Gracious?" Julia laughs. "You must introduce me to this person you seem to think is my cousin."

Julia laughs again. I scowl behind the wall. I was just about ready to grab breakfast and head back to my room when Julia says something that catches my attention.

"Did you really mean what you said at the beach yesterday?"

"What part?" Chelsea asks.

"Don't play dumb with me." Julia sighs. "You said that he was hot."

The colour on my face would have rivaled a tomato. I can't help but wonder what colour Chelsea's face was.

"Yeah I meant it." Chelsea says nervously.

Julia makes puking sounds. "That's really gross."

There's a sound of a chair scrapping the floor. I assume that Chelsea pulled out a chair to sit next to Julia.

"I'm serious though!" Her voice sounds excited. "Have you ever really looked at your cousin?"

Julia makes more puking sounds. "No and I don't intend on it."

"What does he do for a job?" Chelsea asks suddenly.

"He works with animals."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?" Julia asks in confusion.

"His build." Chelsea says as Julia groans.

"Chelsea please stop. You're going to permanently scar me." Julia begs.

"How did he get that kind of colour in his eyes?"

"I don't know. I'm not a genetics expert."

"They're very-"Chelsea stops in the middle of her sentence. I desperately wish I could see them.

Julia speaks up. "I don't want to hear it."

I swear I could feel Chelsea roll her eyes. "I have to listen to you talk about Elliot all the time."

Well that confirmed my suspicion that they had a thing. Weird though. I would have to have a serious talk with Elliot later about it.

Julia sighs. "Fine. Go on."

"Nah, I'm good." I could hear the laughter in her tone.

"What?" Julia replies shocked. "So now you won't tell me? That's not cool Chelsea."

She laughs and I smile at the sound. "His hair reminds me of snow."

"That's creepy." Julia says.

"Don't interrupt! His eyes…"She trails off and sighs.

"What? What about his eyes? You can barely see them beneath his hat." Julia laughs.

Speaking of, I didn't have that on. I almost start to panic. If I walked out there without my hat on, how would I hide?

"His eyes…"Chelsea starts. "Nah, I can't tell you."

Julia groans. "Come one! You have to tell me now!"

"Nope." Chelsea says punctuating the p in the word.

"Come on, please tell me!"

My stomach growls at me, and I realize that I need food badly. This was as good a time as any. Before I can talk myself out of it, I enter the room.

Both girls fall silent. I glance over at them and find Chelsea blushing furiously, avoiding my gaze. Julia was avoiding my look too.

Quickly I take some leftover porridge and milk out of the fridge. As soon as I have them I walk back to my room, wishing I could have run.

Once I'm in my room, I shut the door behind me and release breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I place my food down on a table and quickly put on the rest of my clothes.

Lastly I place my hat on my head, and I feel instantly better. I grab my food and sit down at a desk. Then I remember I forgot my spoon on the counter.

Silently I curse myself. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I get up to go get a spoon. I open the door and run smack into Chelsea.

We both fall back, startled. I pull my hat down over my eyes, glad I had put it on. She's blushing furiously as she hands me a spoon.

"I noticed you forgot this." She whispers.

I take it from her and retreat backwards a few steps. I close the door, but a breeze picks it up and slams it shut instead.

I wince slightly and then sigh. Now she would think I was a jerk. I head back to my desk and begin to eat my porridge.

Suddenly I hear a knocking at the door. I'm surprised so I don't answer. The door opens slowly and Chelsea appears in my doorway. She sees me and walks over.

She sits down on my bed. I have to admit that my heart rate picked up a notch when she did that. It reminded me of the last time a girl sat on my bed. I shake my head, clearing the thought from my head.

Chelsea gives me a puzzled look and then she rises off of my bed and leans against he wall instead. I feel like kicking myself again. Why was it that I had to make motions to my subconscious?

"You can sit on the bed." I tell her gruffly.

She gives me another puzzled look but she sits back down. I take another spoonful of porridge, and turn from her. I could feel my face heating from her staring.

"Porridge?" She asks.

"I like porridge." I reply.

"Isn't that old fashioned?"

I shrug. "It tastes good. That's why I eat it."

"Milk?" She asks again.

I turn and narrow my eyes at her, but she was smiling. "It tastes good."

"But together?" She smiles as she asks the question.

I was annoyed. What gave her the right to ask me all these questions? "None of your business."

Her smile falters. "It's just a question."

"That's the point." I mutter.

She tilts her head and gives me a slight smile. I pull my hat tighter over my head as I finish my breakfast. I drown the milk once I'm done with the porridge.

I gather my dishes and she walks ahead of me back to the main room. After taking a deep breath, I follow. When I arrive, Julia is gone and Chelsea is deep in conversation with Mirabelle. Warily, I place my dishes in the washing machine.

"Oh, Vaughn. You're going to teach Chelsea how to look after chickens today?" Mirabelle looks over at me her blue eyes shining.

I nod. "Yes Mirabelle."

She smiles at me, flipping her short blond hair. "That's very nice of you. Chelsea came here this morning to buy a chicken. Would you go into the back with her and help her pick one out?"

"Sure." I say. Chelsea smiles at me as I head to the back with her following.

We reach the back where Mirabelle keeps the animals. I walk over to the chicken pen with Chelsea gazing in admiration at all the animals.

I open the pen and motion for her to go first. She smiles at me slightly and enters. I follow her and close the pen behind us.

Looking down at all the chickens, I smile slightly. As I watch the chickens, I forget that Chelsea is right behind me. I get down on my stomach and the chickens come over to me. I pick up some feed in my hand and hold it in front of my face. The chickens come over and start pecking my hand.

It tickles my palm and I chuckle. One of the baby chicks comes over to me. It rubs against my hand, and I pick it up with my free hand. I give the chick priority over the full grown chickens, and the little chick pecks my hand. It chirps and ruffles its fluff. I smile at the chick.

"I want that one." Chelsea says behind me and I remember that she was behind me.

I drop the feed on the ground and scramble to my feet. The chick was still in my hand and it chirps at me. Chelsea holds her hands out to me.

I place the chick in her hands, but as I do my fingertips graze her hands. The chick is in her hands and mine are still touching hers. Was it just me or were my hands tingling from her touch? She looks up at me with wide eyes and I quickly snatch my hands away.

My hands are stuffed deep into my pockets and her face is slightly blushing. The chick chirps again and she turns her attention to it.

Chelsea smiles at the little chick and holds it to her face. She rubs the chick against her face, and the chick seemed to really enjoy it. For a second, I'm jealous of the chick. I quickly boot the thought from my head.

She looks up at me with the chick still in her hands. "May I buy this one?"

I nod at her, unable to say anything. She smiles at me, and I gesture for her to go first. With the chicken safely in her hands, Chelsea begins to walk back to the front of the store. After pulling my hat down again, I follow her.

When I enter the room, Chelsea is paying Mirabelle for the chick.

"Thank you so much." She says. "Vaughn was really helpful."

Mirabelle cocks an eyebrow at me, and Chelsea blushes. I pull my hat tighter over my head.

"So what are you going to name it honey?" Mirabelle asks her.

Chelsea cuddles with the chick for a minute. Her face was vibrant and she smiled as the chick's fluff brushed her cheek. "I think I'll name it Amour."

"Amour?" I choke out in horror. "That's an awful name for a chicken."

She frowns and her eyes look misty. Mirabella glares at me for a minute and then turns to comfort her. "It's okay Chelsea. It's a wonderful name."

Chelsea sniffles. "It's French."

"For what? Barf?" I can't help it. I had suspected she'd pick something stupid like Fluff or Fuzz, but she didn't even pick something in her own language. Although deep down I was impressed. It was far more original than anything I could come up with.

She glares at me and cuddles the chick as if to protect its hearing. "It means love. I'm going to love this chick like no chick has ever been loved before."

She looks at me straight in the eye. "The chick seemed to love you too."

I'm instantly ashamed. I pull my hat down, but I can't pull it down far enough to hide the pain in my heart. I'm glad she can't see the pain crossing my face.

Chelsea passes some money to Mirabelle. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

"No problem dear." Mirabelle answers. "Vaughn, help Chelsea take the fodder back to her farm."

I take the fodder from Mirabelle that Chelsea had just bought. Chelsea carries the chick in her hands. She thanks Mirabelle again and then leaves the store. I'm just about to follow her when a hand falls on my shoulder.

"Vaughn." Mirabelle starts.

"I know." I grumble at her, shaking her hand off of my shoulder. I nudge the door open with my foot and then I follow Chelsea.

When I catch up to her, she's talking to Taro. He has a chick in his hands and I notice that it's not the same chick Chelsea just bought.

"Oh, Taro. I just bought a chick. You didn't have to get one for me." Chelsea says to him.

"Nonsense." The old man waves his hand like it was nothing. "Now you have two chickens."

He hands her the chick and she holds it in her hands with Amour. Chelsea giggles as the chicks chirp at her.

Taro harrumphs. "So what are you going to name it?"

She looks at me nervously. I keep my face neutral as I can't pull my hat down with my hands full of fodder. Chelsea looks back to Taro with a thoughtful expression.

With a tilt of her head to the side, she purses her lips. Then she looks at me. "Vaughn, I can't think of anything. You want to pick a name?"

I hide my face behind the fodder. I knew very well she could think of at least a dozen names for the chick, but she was letting me pick because of how I had acted before. Now I felt even worse.

Taro looks between the two of us. It might have just been me, but I think I saw understanding cross the old man's face. "It's okay. You can name it later."

Chelsea smiles at him. "Thanks Taro. I'll see you later."

Taro looks at her. "Alright missy." Then he walks off.

She sighs and continues walking. I follow behind her quietly. We walk the same way I saw her going yesterday until we reach a farm.

I look around. Right now, it wasn't much to sneeze at. The house was old and rickety and looked like it would have an awful draft. My eyes narrow at that. I didn't like the idea. She might get sick.

The field itself was a horror to behold. Weeds were strewn everywhere and there were huge boulders and stumps. Although little twigs and stone were absent from the field, and there was a whole section of the field that was plowed and had crops growing.

Turnips and potatoes, I note. They looked like they would be ready to harvest in a few days.

Chelsea observes her own farm with me. She sighs. "I know it's not much to look at right now, but eventually I hope to have this farm back in its prime."

I look down at her, and see her eyes light up. "I'll have crops all on one side of the field, of all varieties. The other side of the field I'll plant grass for all my animals to graze on." She points to the far end of the plot of land. "Over there, I'll have a huge barn to hold sheep and cows." She points to a tiny coop house. "I'll expand the chicken coop so it'll hold a bunch of chickens. They'll all roam free on sunny days." Her eyes light up even brighter. "It'll be beautiful."

I couldn't help but see what she meant. The passion in her voice when she spoke about it left me nearly breathless. She really seemed to love this farm. Maybe she would do a good job.

She sighs. "I have a lot of work to do until then though." She looks up at me and smiles. "You ready?"

I nod my head at her from behind the fodder. She smiles at me slightly and then leads the way to the chicken coop.

Once inside I put the fodder down in the fodder bucket provided. Then I turn to her. She still had the chicks in her hands and she was looking at me expectantly.

I pull my hat down to cover my eyes and then I begin. "Raising chickens is really simple. One chicken needs only one bushel of fodder."

I reach down to where I'd placed the fodder. I remove a piece and show her. "This is how big one bushel is. You place it here."

With her eyes on me, I walk over to the feeding spaces. I bend down and place the fodder in one of the spaces. "A chick only eats about half a bushel, so until they're fully grown you only have to place one piece here a day."

Then I stand and look at her. "Other than that, there's not much to do. You spend time with them, cuddle them a bit and let them out when it's sunny. They'll find their own food."

I lower my hat darkly and purposely speak deeper to try and scare her a bit. "But make sure you put them back before nightfall. There are wild dogs around here and they will kill and eat your chickens if given the chance."

She clutches the chickens a little tighter to her chest. I nearly chuckle. "But if you get a dog and he becomes loyal to you, he will chase off the dogs."

"That's it?" Chelsea asks.

I nod my head. She kneels down on her knees and puts the chicks on the ground. They jump from her hands and run around like children hyped up on chocolate. After a minute they calm down and peck at the ground like normal chickens.

"They're so cute." Chelsea sighs.

Then she stands back up and walks over to me. "You sure you don't want to name the other chick?"

I nod my head. She could name the chick whatever she wanted. I wouldn't comment on it again.

She nods and watches the chicks. While she watched them, her face became really calm and gentle. Was that how I looked around animals? Maybe I should ask her…

No. I couldn't ask her something like that. It was too weird for me.

"Popcorn." She says suddenly. "I'll name it Popcorn."

I blink a few times. "Popcorn?" Had I head that correctly?

She nods her head. "Yep. Love Popcorn. Get it?"

I don't laugh. "Name it something else. Yellow if you have to. Just not popcorn."

Chelsea smiles. "Yellow it is."

I pause. What had just happened? She laughs at the confusion that must have shown on my face. I would have to remember not show so much emotion around this girl. It was a little hard though. She was nice to be around.

"See, I wanted you to name it. So in order for you to do that, I said something really ridiculous. And it worked." Chelsea gives me a smug look.

I had to hand it to her. It was pretty clever. I did fall for it. She looks down at the chicks again and I smile slightly. Although I make it disappear when she turns around.

"Thanks for teaching me about the chickens. I really appreciate it." Chelsea smiles again.

I nod. She seemed way too comfortable around me. It was beginning to unnerve me. Without another word, I leave the chicken coop.

**Wow. That was longer than I thought. I guess this will be the usual length then. Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to add on that seemed to fit. Well, please review and if you have any ideas please send them in!**


	4. Maverick

**Maverick**

The weeks pass slowly. My regular job goes slower than a snail in a hundred meter dash. All the animals are very content though. I must have spent hours just brushing them over and over.

Two days of the week seem to go by much faster compared to the rest of my week. It might be because I avoided Chelsea like the black plague, but everywhere I turned she was there. The island was both an escape and a torture.

Apparently, Chelsea didn't get much nutrition on her farm. One day Julia had found her passed out on her farm. Ever since then, Mirabelle and Julia had taken turns with the pink-haired family feeding her supper everyday. So at least once while I was there, she ate supper with us.

Whenever she was around, I kept my mouth shut and didn't say a word to her. So what if she thought I was being cold? I couldn't afford to have another girl get close to me again. I don't think I could go through that kind of heartbreak again.

I manage to avoid Chelsea for six weeks straight. It's now midway through summer.

This is how I find myself wandering around the meadow on a Wednesday afternoon. The meadow was one of the new places that Chelsea had opened. I was actually impressed with all the hard work she did, but I never told her.

Unlike what most people thought, I actually didn't get hot inside of my clothes. It was very comfortable for me. I got chills really easy, so the over padding of clothes helps keep me warm.

I take a deep breath in. The clear air is refreshing, unlike in the city. The skies here are bluer than blue and the grass is greener than green. Everything is just so much healthier out here than in the city. It's too crowded and gloomy in the city.

I've probably been pacing the whole meadow for over two hours. I couldn't help it. Pacing was how I dealt with stress and I was really stressed out.

For one thing, I was falling behind on my rent for my apartment. The old lady that rents it out to me has a very strict deadline and when I don't meet it, she hassles me nonstop until I pay her.

Second, my boss just gave me a 'break' from work. Oh, sure he'll let me come back. After another six weeks vacation. He says that I work too hard, and need a vacation. He's paying me so it's not so bad. But I don't know what to do. I'm planning on asking Mirabelle if I can stay here for that time and work extra here.

Third is Chelsea. That girl was driving me crazy. It's because of her that I was working extra hard. The harder I work, the easier it is to ignore my thoughts. And she's been on them a lot. So, essentially, she's responsible for all my stress.

I growl at nothing in particular and shove my hands deep in my pocket. When I do, I blink in surprise. My hands roam around in my pocket for my ring, but it's not there.

In disgust, I swear colourfully at myself. Hurriedly, I search the rest of my person just to be sure. I growl again at myself when my search turns up nothing.

I sigh as I begin to search for it. I'm nearly bending over myself as I scan the grass. The silver would be hard to catch sight of in the tall green blades.

As I search, I glance up unconsciously. Then I notice something that only deepens my frown. I stand and try to appear like I wasn't looking for anything, but she's already seen me.

Chelsea walks over to me with a smile on her face. I know there's no running away from the situation this time.

"Hey Vaughn. What are you doing?" She asks me, genuinely curious.

"It's none of your business what I'm doing." I growl at her.

Chelsea actually recoils from me, like I'd hit her. I pull my hat over my eyes to hide the shame I felt. I really didn't want anyone to know about the item I'd lost. It was extremely personal and kind of embarrassing to admit that I carried it around.

Before Chelsea replies, Denny seems to pop out of nowhere. The fisherman has a smile on his face, like always.

"Hey man." He greets me. "What's going on?"

"I lost something." I admit to him. I really didn't want to be rude, people just ticked me off. "Please leave me alone." That was polite, wasn't it?

"Whatever man." Denny tsks. "Why do you have to be like that? We're not out to get you or anything."

He gives me one last look as he turns around and walks away. As he leaves, I catch him mutter something under his breath. "I really don't understand you Vaughn."

_Good._ I think to myself. It was better that people stayed away from me. Once Denny's gone, I return to my searching; completely ignoring the fact that Chelsea was right there.

"I'll look for it with you." She offers me softly.

I sigh and stand up straight. Then I stare at her. Not menacingly or anything, just gaze at her. In her normal farming outfit, she was covered from head to toe in dirt. She had probably just come from planting some new crops.

Wordlessly, I nod to her. She smiles at me, and her shoulders fall as if as weight was taken off of them by my decision.

Chelsea gets right down on her hands and knees to look for it. I have to admire her. She was really getting involved with something that didn't even involve her or profit her in any way.

"You know, it might help if you tell me what you're looking for." She tells me this without looking up from her search.

I drop down on my hands and knees with her, and begin to search. "It's a silver ring."

Chelsea seemed to freeze right beside me. I glance at her, and she seemed to be frozen with shock. I'm about to ask her if she was alright, when she speaks up. "You're married?"

I nearly laugh out loud. She thought I was married! The idea was so ridiculous. Once upon a time, I thought I would get married eventually, but now I know that's just a fairy tale. But why did she freeze up like that? Better question, why would she care?

"No, I'm not married." I tell her. Was it just me, or did she sigh in relief?

"Why do you have a ring then?" She seems purely curious.

I sigh as my fingers sort through the grass. I don't think it could do any harm, and she wasn't a very judging person. Once I'd seen her side against Julia, who was her best friend, against Natalie when they got in a fight. The girl was all about fairness. Loyalty is yet to be determined.

"You promise not to tell?" I know I sound like a five-year-old but I brush it aside.

"I promise."

I notice that she stops moving as she waits for an answer, but I just turn around and continue looking. "It's my mother's. When she passed away, she gave it to me."

My heart seems to tear itself apart as I remember that day. "She died from an extremely advanced form of cancer. She died just before turning thirty. I was seven."

As soon as the words are out, I just can't seem to stop. "On her deathbed in the hospital, she turned to me and spoke in a clear voice. She took the ring off her finger, and put it in my hand. She said to me 'Vaughn, marrying your father was the best decision I ever made in my life. Please don't hold it against him. I loved him with all my heart and soul. Please, Vaughn. Take my ring. I know you'll find true love someday. Never give up hope.'"

I glance at Chelsea. Instead of the scorn I expect to see, I find sympathy, understanding and jealousy on her face. I turn my back to her as I use the back of my hand to wipe a tear from my eye. Sympathy was better than pity, I guess, but it probably would have been better for her to laugh. But why would she be jealous?

"She died right after telling me that." I whisper, more to myself that to her. The image of my silver haired, blue eyed mother lying dead on a hospital bed was so vivid; I have to shake my head to get rid of it.

Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I whip around, as best as possible on the ground, to be staring into her deep blue eyes. Anxiously I swallow, because they reminded me on my mother's eyes.

"I'm sorry." She says simply.

I don't say anything. For one thing, her hand was still on my shoulder and it actually felt really good. And…no, that was it.

For a minute, I wish I could pull my hat down even farther. I don't feel like I can't move though.

"My parents disowned me when I was sixteen. They're obsessed with money and hardly pay me any attention." She pauses and looks me straight in the eyes. "I felt like I was an orphan in an empty house all my life."

Well that explained the jealousy. She was jealous of the love my parents had for me. For a minute, I almost feel bad for her.

"Why did they disown you?" I find myself asking.

She laughs. It's a scary laugh, because it's more depressing than happy. "I got their attention."

"By?"

"I jumped off our house." Chelsea laughs. She must have seen the confusion on my face, though because she continues to explain. "Our house is three stories high."

I swear my mouth was gaping open. "Are you crazy? You could've died!"

She shrugs. "But I didn't. Broke just about every single bone in my body, but I didn't die."

"Why would you do something like that?" I ask her.

"What would you do?" She asks me in turn. "If you're parents treated you like the scum of the earth and never paid attention to you at all. I had to do _something_ to get their attention."

"I'd be glad I had parents that were alive." I whisper softly.

That shuts her up. Her face turns a brilliant red and her hand drops from my shoulder. I almost ask her to put it back, but I restrain myself.

Then she holds out her hand to me. It's closed in a fist. "Hold out your hand." Chelsea tells me.

I do as she asks. She opens her hand and a small silver ring falls into my palm.

My own fist closes around the ring. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She replies.

We sit in silence for a long time. The sun begins to set in the distance, and it's nice to just sit there and watch it with her.

She speaks up. "What happened to your dad?"

I swallow. It's not that the memory was uncomfortable; I just didn't like talking about it. So I tell her so.

Chelsea nods understandingly. "Well, when you want to talk about it; I'm all ears."

She pats my hand and it tingles after. Then she rises. "I have to go feed my chickens. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She phrases it like a question. I nod. It was Wednesday today, so I'd ask Mirabelle about me staying here tomorrow. Chelsea smiles at me and then leaves me alone in the meadow.

Once she's gone I look at the ring. She must have found it in the grass just before she'd asked me if I was married.

Our discussion had brought some funny thoughts to my mind. For one, did I want to get married? If you'd asked me about half an hour ago I would have answered with a resounding no. Now, well I guess the answer was still the same, but I wasn't quite as convinced.

I gaze out into the sunset and think about the girl I'd nearly proposed to; before she broke my heart. Her image was clear in my mind, no matter how much I drank or how hard I tried to forget. She'd been the first girl I'd loved, and we were so in sync. I thought we would last forever. How very wrong I had turned out to be.

With a sigh, I get up and put the ring back in my pocket. As I walk to Mirabelle's I think of how when Chelsea was around, I forgot the other girl entirely. For a second I consider going to help her with her chickens, but then I chide myself. I can't run from my thoughts; no matter how hard I try.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is so short. I thought it was good like this. The next chapters should be longer. Oh, and if I don't update for a while: I apologize in advance. I'm leaving on vacation in two days and won't have access to a computer for a while. Please keep sending reviews! I will be sure to post ASAP!**


	5. Forewarning of Disaster

**Forewarning of Disaster**

The next morning I wake up to the sound of rain tapping the roof. I groan angrily and stuff my head under a pillow. Why did it have to rain today? Does the world hate me or something?

I continue to grumble to myself as I rise and head over to the bathroom. Quickly I take a shower and let the warm water kill the tension in my muscles. In the shower, I can forget that it's raining, but I have to get out eventually.

Stealthily, I get back to my room and toss my clothes over my pruned skin. Lastly, I place my hat on top of my head and then I leave for my morning breakfast.

I enter the kitchen, and surprisingly I'm the only one there. I shrug, not finding much of a big deal about it. From the fridge, I grab porridge and a glass of milk for breakfast.

I've just finished washing my dishes when Mirabelle walks into the room. She seems really happy, and I scowl under my hat. When people were happy on a rainy day, it really bugged the crap out of me.

"Good morning Vaughn." She says to me as she grabs her own breakfast.

"Morning." I say back, not finding much good about it.

As she starts to eat, I figure this might be as good a time as any to ask about staying here. I take a deep breath in and then sit down next to her at the table.

"Mirabelle." I start. She looks up at me while chewing food, so I continue. "Well, I was wondering if I could stay here for a while longer."

She gives me a questioning look, so I explain further. "My boss gave me a vacation, and the lady that's renting out my apartment is really pounding down on my head."

Mirabelle doesn't speak for a minute, so I quickly try to reassure her. "I'll still work when I'm here, so it'll be just like Wednesday and Thursday."

"How long?" She asks when she finally speaks.

"Six weeks." I mumble out.

Mirabelle smiles at me. "I'm not going to kick you out Vaughn. We love having you here and would be delighted if you'd stay here."

I let out a deep breath. Well that was one problem solved. But Mirabelle continues talking. "Besides, maybe after talking to some of the islanders a little more, you'll loosen up and be more open to people."

I stand stiffly. "I hope not." The words are practically growled at her, and I rush out of the house before I can see the hurt cross her face.

Once I'm outside, I want to kick myself. I always hurt the people most close to me. Ever since _she_ had come and destroyed my world. Why couldn't I be nice to my own family? They were always so nice to me, letting me stay with them far longer than any normal family would.

Now I was out in the cursed rain. I growl at myself. Where was I going to go now? I couldn't go back and face Mirabelle and no one else liked me enough. Great. Now I'm stuck in the stupid rain.

I begin to walk around the island aimlessly, when I spot Gannon walking home with a bunch of tools. Curious, I walk up to him.

"Gannon, where are you coming from?" I ask him.

"Building a bridge." He tells me gruffly. "Chelsea already went to explore over there."

"Over where?"

"Forest and a mine."

My eyes almost bug out. I quickly thank Gannon and speed off to where the new bridge was. Sure enough, I find it right where Gannon had told me it was. Without stopping to think about what I was doing, I walk over the bridge.

I find Chelsea not far from the bridge, picking up wild mushrooms to sell. I could have sighed in relief.

"Chelsea." I say gruffly.

She looks up at me in surprise and then she gives me a huge grin as she waves to me. I don't wave back but I walk over to where she was.

"Isn't it great?" Is the first thing she says to me. "I asked Gannon to build the bridge for me after I saw you yesterday. He finished this morning. He really works fast."

She smiles at the leafy foliage around us, and I have to admit that it was very beautiful. I glance at her again as she leans down to pick up another mushroom.

"What are you doing here Vaughn?" The basket that was in her hands is placed on her hip; like you see people do in those old movies.

"I heard there was a mine here." I state gruffly.

Chelsea looks surprised. "You like mining? I never would have thought that about you Vaughn."

"I don't. I hate mining." I correct her.

She looks really confused now. "Then why-"

I answer her before she can finish her question. "I didn't want you going in the mine."

"Why not?" She's smiling when she's talking though.

"They're dangerous." I growl. "There are pitfalls you can fall down and if they're deep enough, you could die. And you shouldn't go there without telling anyone."

Her face is lit up with a smile. "But I'm going to have to do some mining. I actually already came from there."

My face contorts with anger and I pull my hat down so she doesn't see it. Luckily she's fishing around in her basket. She pulls out a diamond. And it's pink.

Now I do growl at her. "Put that away." I snap at her.

She laughs but does put it back in the basket. "Do you not like gems?"

"Not that one." I growl, but I notice that I foolishly let sadness creep into my voice.

She gives me a thoughtful look, but thankfully she doesn't ask. Then she smiles at me. "Well, I'm glad you came here."

"Why?" I ask surprised.

Chelsea's smile morphs into a grin. "Because now I know that you actually do have emotion! Instead of the freaky zombie your cousin keeps telling me you are."

I pull my hat closer over my eyes. Chelsea speaks softly. "Why do you wear that hat?"

Her question catches me off guard; like all her questions do. The way she thought was really refreshing to me. "I like it."

"It hides your beautiful eyes." She whispers.

I'm shocked, and don't move. Chelsea thought my eyes were beautiful? I'm so surprised, I don't react when her hand reaches up and pulls my hat off.

She smiles slightly as she looks at me. "That's much better."

Her eyes are trained on mine, and for a second, I don't want to look away. She begins to blush under my gaze, and then I remember my hat.

Anxiously, I snatch at it. She jumps backwards though, with a smile on her face. Then she places it on her head and looks at me.

"How do I look? Cowboy enough for you?" She laughs, though I notice she's looking at me like she wants an answer.

I lunge for the hat again and she backpedals. Chelsea laughs with the hat still on her head. "You gotta catch me first!"

She begins to run around, and I chase after her. As I'm running, I finally notice that the rain wasn't falling in the forest. Maybe the leaves were blocking it.

Chelsea has the disadvantage of carrying a basket. She stops briefly to put it down. When she does this, I nearly catch her.

She squeals like a girly girl and then laughs as she continues running. She turns to look back at me, so she doesn't see the tree root that she trips over. Unfortunately, I don't see it either.

First Chelsea trips and falls on the ground and then the next second I've landed right on top of her. Thankfully, my hands land on the ground beside her. Instead of…elsewhere.

She blushes as she looks at me. We're less that a few centimeters apart. Chelsea takes the hat off her head and places it firmly on my head. Her fingers linger for a second over my hair; like she wanted to do something else.

I don't move, letting her make the move. Or maybe, I wanted her to do it. Then she drops her hands and I practically jump off her.

Now I really wish I could kick myself. I turn around so she can't see my face. What had just happened? Her fingers had felt so good on my hair. Fantasies flash through my head so fast it makes me dizzy. Ones of Chelsea dragging her fingers through my hair, of her kissing me, and worse.

Someone taps my shoulder, and I swear I must have jumped a foot in the air. It's Chelsea. _Of course it's her, she was right behind you!_ My mind yells at me.

"Vaughn?" She whispers. I don't say anything, so she sighs. "I'm sorry I took your hat."

I shrug. "It's okay."

I glance at her and notice that she has her basket in her hands again. "You want to go?" She asks me.

"Sure." I nod at her and we begin walking. I'm not sure where we're going, but she seems to be leading.

Eventually we reach the shipping bin in town. The rain was pouring down still and I growl at nothing.

Chelsea dumps her basket into the shipping bin and then looks at me. There's a smile on her face. "Don't you just love the rain?"

"I hate the rain." I growl at her.

She looks surprised. "You went all the way to the forest to find me in a weather you hate?" Chelsea laughs and bumps me with her hip. "You're losing your poker face cowboy."

I almost smile at her. She was always so happy. A little optimist. It was actually really nice.

Chelsea looks up at me. I notice that we're closer that I had thought. She face was only a small distance from mine. Her face was shining with the rain as she looked at me with her bright eyes. Unconsciously, I glance at her lips. Even wet with the rain, they looked warm and oh, so inviting.

My eyes go back to hers, and notice that she's looking at my lips too. Then her eyes glance up to meet mine. She blushes but doesn't move. Slowly I feel my face inch forward, but I snap my head back when I hear the sound of an approaching horse.

Automatically, I pull my hat over my head. A glance at Chelsea shows me that she looks disappointed, but the look disappears with the approach of the horse.

One looks tells me that the horse is not alone. There's a man on top of the horse. He stops the horse and slides off. The man has beach blond hair that almost looks white but has a yellow look. It's a little shorter than mine, but was still kind of long. His eyes are a light sky blue and he's dressed in a regal manor.

"I bid you greetings." He says with a smile on his face. "Oh, I've been ever so busy today. You're a resident of these islands as well?"

I notice that he's only looking at Chelsea and not at me. Under my breath, I growl but Chelsea answers. "Yeah, I'm the local farmer."

"Well then I'm charmed to meet you." He flashes her another smile, and I've decided that I hate this guy.

"Oh, well pardon me for being so rude. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alwick Plymouth Junior Regison the third."

We both just stare at him in disbelief. He laughs. "A bit of a mouthful, is it not?" He laughs again. "Worry not. You may call me Will."

Chelsea nods, and Will speaks again. "Pardon me, but might I have your name?"

"I'm Chelsea, and this is Vaughn. He's the animal trader for the island." Chelsea explains.

"Chelsea, I see." He says, completely ignoring me. "A delightful name, befitting a fair maiden such as you."

Oh give me a break. I roll my eyes at this guy. Just who did he think he is, that he can just sweep in and woo any girl he sees? And what is with the British accent, and the old style way of talking? Get with the times already!

Chelsea is blushing though, and I feel something hot and angry stir up in my chest. I desperately want to tell this guy to back off, but instead I lock the feeling up.

"What are you doing here?" She asks him.

He laughs again. This guy was full of laughter. "Father told me to see the world! So I've been traveling this way and that. These islands suit me well. I should think I shall be staying for a spell."

Oh great. He just had to move in the day I decide to stay here for six straight weeks. Well, wasn't that just perfect?

Will continues on with a smile. "As fate would have it, a relative of mine lives here."

Chelsea looks as confused as I feel. Who would be unfortunate enough to be related to this guy? She speaks for me though. "Really, who?"

"Regis is my uncle." He says, and I feel as if my entire world has just collapsed on me.

Chelsea shakes here head. "No one lives here with that name."

Will looks surprised for the first time since arriving. "Bother. I must have arrived a tad bit early then."

"Who's Regis?" Chelsea asks.

Will smiles and goes on to explain, my heart dropping more with every word he says. "Regis is my uncle, as I said before. He's head of a huge mining company, and I was told that he lived by the mine here."

Chelsea shakes her head. "No one lives by the mines. I just opened it late last night and first explored it this morning."

Will laughs. "Well they should be along soon then. Uncle Regis also has a daughter that I assume shall be joining him. She's very sweet, I'm positive you'll be wonderful friends."

_Over my dead body._ My mind shrieks at him as I begin to feel sick. Chelsea smiles and asks the question that I wish wouldn't be asked. "Oh, what's her name?"

"Sabrina."

Now I really do feel sick. My legs must have shaken or something, because Chelsea grabbed a hold of my arm. "Vaughn! Are you okay?"

"No." I say gruffly as my face contorts.

"I'd better get you inside." She says worriedly. She turns back to Will, and I notice will slight smug satisfaction that her look is of nothing more than friendship. "It was nice to meet you."

Will bows to her. "My ship is anchored by the coast over there. I do hope you'll come visit." Then he takes her hand and kisses the top of it. Even though I feel like I can barely stand, I want to punch him right there. "For now, I bid you adieu."

Chelsea looks at him with wide eyes as he walks back to his horse. "Come, Arthur! Let us depart!"

The horse neighs, and rubs his head against Will's hand. I normally love all animals, but I didn't like this horse very much. Will begins to speak to the horse again. "I've sent for someone to come and get you, so you'll be returning home."

The horse neighs sadly, if that's possible. Then the both walk away and disappear from sight. As soon as they're gone, Chelsea snaps back to attention.

"Come on Vaughn. Let's get you inside."

I let her drag me back to Mirabelle's. My knees feel extremely weak and I collapse on the couch the minute we're inside.

My eyes close and I feel two people rush over to me. Chelsea is still holding onto my arm, and is now kneeling beside me.

"What happened?" Mirabelle's worried voice asks.

"I'm not sure." Chelsea asks. It's only now that I notice that we're both dripping wet still. I'd actually completely forgotten about the rain when pretty boy had shown up. "This new guy showed up and while we were talking, Vaughn just about swooned."

"Vaughn nearly fainted?" Julia laughs. "Don't you go telling me that you're not straight anymore Vaughn!" She laughs again and I growl at her.

I open my eyes and Julia kneels down to talk to Chelsea. "So, the new guy; what does he look like?"

"Is this really the time for that?" Chelsea asks as she glances at me.

"Of course it is!" She shrieks. "Vaughn is fine. He just needs a little rest. So come one! Tell, tell!"

"Um." She glances at me one for time before answering her. "He's got blond hair and blue eyes. He's rich. He actually rode up on a horse."

Julia nearly swoons herself. "A knight in shining armor." She sighs. "So is he hot?"

My gaze hardens. Chelsea herself looks shocked. "I thought you liked Elliot?"

"Oh I do. I'm just curious. You don't have a man, you know." Julia points out.

I try not to notice that Chelsea glances at me again. I turn my head away from her, not wanting to hear her answer.

"I don't know." She answers. 'I guess."

Julia snorts. "What do you mean you guess? You don't know?"

I've turned back around to look at them again. Then I snap at Julia. "Shut up, you're giving me a headache."

Chelsea gives me a worried look. "Do you want me to get you some Advil or something?"

I nod my head. Mirabelle tells her it's in the back and she rushes off to get it. Quickly I seize the chance to tell Mirabelle and Julia why this had happened.

I grab Julia's arm and pull her down towards me. Not hard enough that she shrieks, but she does look at me. I motion for Mirabelle to come closer too.

She does and then I whisper furiously at them. "Will is Sabrina's cousin. There's a mine on this island and Regis is coming. With his daughter."

I let go of Julia and close my eyes before I can see their faces, but I'm too late. Their faces show shock and surprise. Julia's has a bit of horror, but neither of them can imagine the horror I feel.

* * *

**Okay, I may or may not post another chapter today. If I don't, then I won't update for a while because I leave on vacation tomorrow. But I will try! Please review!**

***laughs* Who liked this chapter? I did! I do not own Harvest Moon, and yes, I know that Will is in a different version than that one I'm writing in but he fits in nicely with my plot. Hahaha tell me who you think is better: Will or Vaughn? The sweet talking rich boy with a British accent or the poor gruff cowboy with a dark past? *bum bum bump: dramatic music*  
**


	6. Ready to Love?

***laughs* Here's an update for you all! I won't be able to give you a gaurenteed date for the next chapter, so enjoy whie you can! But I will update soon! Please review an tell me what you think! Sorry for spelling errors. It's the middle of the night, you can forgive me. As a reminder, I do not own Harvest Moon and I also do not own the song "Ready to Love Again" by Lady Antebellum.**

* * *

**Ready to Love?**

An hour after taking the Advil Chelsea gives me, I can walk on my own two legs again. Chelsea stays the entire time, just to make sure I'm okay. The entire time, I'm telling her she can go; but she doesn't listen to me. As soon as I can stand, I flee the room.

I make my way out to the meadow again. Immediately, I begin to pace again. My thoughts were a huge jumble; it was hard to make anything out of them.

My mind would simply not comprehend the fact that Sabrina was coming here. I hadn't seen her for almost six years, but I could see her in my mind like it was yesterday.

Sabrina had been my girlfriend for all of high school. We started going out in the ninth grade; pretty much the first week. We had been forced to sit next to each other in all our classes, and after about a week we just…got together.

She had been the first girlfriend I'd ever had. We had great times together, and trying to forget her was like trying to forget myself. My entire life had been about her back then. Though, now that I think back, we did have a lot of problems.

For one thing, she always did exactly what her father told her to do; no matter what it was. Eventually that was the reason we broke up. That day had been awful. But it wasn't the only thing we

Sabrina was obsessed with diamonds and minerals, just like her father. I ever really liked mining to begin with, but all her talk about it drove me to hate it. For her, pink diamonds were her favourite. I had been so mad that Chelsea had that earlier.

And she always argued with me about the way I dressed. She said that cowboys were really out of style and that I should update my outfit. That really ticked me off.

We always ended making up. I had really thought we would get married one day. That's how it all ended.

It had been right after we finished our last year of high school. Sabrina and I had gone out to a movie and then out for supper to celebrate. Then we ended up back at my apartment. We had gone straight to the bedroom, for some serious make-out sessions. Looking back, I had to admit that I was being reckless but she let me.

We had gone pretty far, when at the last second, I backed out. She had a curious look on her intelligent face at that moment. I had smiled at her, gotten off the bed and taken a ring out of my jacket. I proposed to her. I knew I was being old-fashioned, but I didn't want to lose my virginity to her until I knew she could be fine forever.

But she refused. She said she didn't want to get married yet. At first I thought that was fine; I could be patient and wait. Then she dropped the bomb.

Sabrina was moving away with her father. I had asked her why and she wouldn't say. I was burning with curiosity and kept badgering her. Finally, she cracked and told me that she was engaged already.

As you can imagine, my world was shattered. I yelled at her; cussed her out. Desperately begging her to tell me why she did it. Why she got engaged to _another_ guy, why she was even _dating_ another guy, and _why_ she led me on.

She wasn't even in tears or anything. Calmly, she told me that he was rich, powerful and her father approved of him. So it was logical to marry him. I on the other hand was poor; practically a nobody and her father hated me.

I was in tears. Although I wouldn't admit it if you asked me now. I told her that I loved her, didn't that count for anything?

Sabrina gave me a cold hard look, said no, and then dressed herself and walked out my front door. Like she was saying goodbye to a stranger instead of someone she'd been dating for four straight years.

Angrily I kick at the ground. A clump of grass flies into the air and lands a short distance away. My fists clench and my nails dig into my skin.

Suddenly someone taps me on the shoulder. I spin around; ready to yell bloody murder at the person behind me. It turns out to be a girl I've never met though.

"Hi, I'm Lanna." She introduces herself.

I growl at her. She jumps back a bit, and I find that I'm pleased by her reaction. The girl has long flowing blond hair and stunning brown eyes, but it doesn't capture my attention romantically or anything. There was a green bandanna on her head and pink bows on the sides.

The girl speaks up again before I can turn around. I'm a retired pop singer. I'll be living on this island. You're pacing around where my house is, so I came to ask you to move please."

I growl at her again. "Then how old are you? Thirty? You did some surgery to make yourself look twenty?"

She frowns at me. "I was a one-hit teen pop star. I'm twenty one now."

Lanna leaves in a huff and slams the door of her house, which was indeed near where I was pacing.

Slowly, I begin to try and calm down my breathing. I close my eyes and try and empty my mind of thoughts. Then I begin to walk towards the beach.

I reach the beach without being intercepted by anyone. When I reach the beach, I walk up to the shore line.

Impulsively, I take my boots off and chuck them to the side. My socks follow them, and then I roll up my pant legs.

I take a few steps forward so that the water caresses my feet. The cold water is actually really refreshing. As I close my eyes, I can pretend that all my emotions are being dragged out with the tide.

How long I stand there, I don't know. Eventually, I put my boots back on and walk away from the water. I don't go far though; I stop at the he rock on the beach.

My Zen like state was still intact, so I sit down and lay against the rock. My hat tipped over my face, I begin to meditate.

What feels like mere moments later to me, I'm being shaken. It takes me a few minutes to fully get out of my state. Had I fallen asleep? Or had I been _really_ in the zone?

"Vaughn! Vaughn! Oh my god, Vaughn! Please get up!" A voice cries and I hear someone sobbing.

I blink my eyes to a pitch black sky. How come I was lying on the ground? And where was my hat?

Confused, I try to sit up, but find that I can't. Someone was crying, and they were crying into my shirt. I make out long brown hair, and a rucksack on the ground.

Before my mind can tell myself not to, my hand is gently stroking her hair. It feels really smooth in my hands, and I smile at her.

Then her head snaps up. Her face is tear streaked and red from crying. She looked like a mess.

I sit up to get a better look at her. Then suddenly, her arms are around me in a tight hug as she begins to cry again.

"I-I thought you were d-dead." She chokes out through tears. Instead of pushing off like my normal reaction would be, I put my arms around her too and stroke her hair in comfort.

"Why did you think that?" I ask her softly.

Chelsea mumbles into my shirt. "You weren't m-moving. Your eyes were c-closed and you weren't b-breathing. I thought you'd had a h-heart attack or something."

I actually laugh. "I'm not that old."

She leans back and sniffles. "How old are you then?"

"I'm only twenty four." I tell her.

Chelsea smiles and sniffles again. "I'm twenty one."

"Legal drinking age." I tell her.

Her eyes go wide. "That's right! You missed dinner. That's why I came out to find you. I had dinner at your place and you weren't there. Mirabelle and Julia were worried, so they sent me to look for you."

My eyes go wide themselves. I had been out for a really long time. They must have been really worried.

"How did you find me?" I ask her.

She gives me a real smile, not that she was sure I wasn't dead. "There are only so many places to look on an island this size."

I smile back at her. Then her eyes go wide, and she jumps off of me. For a second I'm shocked. She had been sitting on my lap. I had barely even noticed. It just seemed so…so…right, for lack of a better word.

Chelsea is blushing like crazy though. She leans down and picks up my hat, then hands it to me. I take it slowly, and then place it on my head. Though when I put it on, I keep the brim up so I can see clearly.

I stand up and walk over to her. She's backed up against the rock I had been sitting against earlier. When I'm standing in front of her, I stop.

We're really close together. Not touching, but I wanted to so badly. When she was around, I could forget everything else. She made me feel like it was possible that I could love again.

Chelsea looks up at me. I swallow. "I'm…sorry."

She blinks a few times, to be sure she heard right. "What for? You never apologize for anything."

I swallow again. She was right; but I had to say it. "I'm sorry, for scaring you. Just now, and this morning. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Her gaze softens and her smile is sweet and innocent. "Thank you Vaughn. For apologizing. It means a lot to me."

Neither of us moves. Sick fantasies speed through my head, and I do my best to banish them. The Zen state would be good right about now. Only when I've completely ridden my mind of the fantasies, do I notice that I've unconsciously closed space between us.

I don't think I could stop myself. Chelsea stood there with her big innocent blue eyes, and her head tilted up at me. For the second time, I glance at her lips. They were perfectly curved and looked slightly moist.

At that moment something rises up inside of me that is dying to kiss her. My head tilts a bit as I watch her reaction. Her eye flutter closed as she leans in towards me.

Before our lips touch, I can feel her breath on mine. It was warm, and sent tingles up my skin that I had never felt before. We're both breathing hard and we haven't even done anything yet.

I'm about to close my lips around hers, when my stomach growls. Loud. Her eyes flutter open as my stomach growls in protest at me.

She leans back against the rock and I take a step back, the moment gone. My stomach growls at me, and I want to growl back. Stupid stomach.

Chelsea smiles at me. "You want to get something to eat? Maybe a drink?"

I nod as I pull my hat closer. "A drink would be good."

We walk in silence to the inn. No one else is inside. I guess it was later than I had thought. Music is playing dimly in the background as we go and order our food.

Chelsea sits down at a table and I follow suit by sitting next to her. As we wait for the food, I decide to take my hat off for a minute; I knew how much she licked it off.

Sure enough, she smiles and looks at me. My attention is on the hat though. The stupid purple ribbon was still wrapped around it. Why did I still have that? Sabrina had given it to me on our one-year dating anniversary. I should have gotten rid of it.

I scowl and growl at the thing. I've had enough of it. Quickly, I tear the ribbon off. I stand up from my seat and walk over to the trash can where I throw the ribbon inside.

A huge sigh is released from my mouth; like I was glad to be rid of it after all those years. I walk back to the table, where Chelsea is looking at me with a curious face.

She doesn't ask me about it though. Instead, she smiles and laughs. "Your hat looks so bare now."

I sit in the seat next to her. "It's not bad."

She chuckles softly under her breath. Then she reaches up to her head and takes out the red bandanna that was on her head.

Chelsea grabs my hat and glances at me. Then she looks back at the hat and ties the bandanna around it. When she's done she smiles and look back at me. "There you go. Not so bare anymore."

Then she takes my hat and places it back on my head. Her fingers leave quickly and I can't help but wish they wouldn't.

I nod at her. "Thank you."

Then I blur out a question. "Why do you keep talking to me?"

"Excuse me?" She responds.

"Well, I never talk to anyone on the island beside Mirabelle and Julia and that's because they're my family. Outside the island, I only talk to my customers when it's necessary. But you're different. You always come up to talk to me, even when I tell you to go away."

"Yeah, a lot of people think you're being rude by not talking to them." Her face is slightly sad.

I scoff. "It's not my concern what other people think."

"Well, you could smile more." She offers timidly.

"Why?" The question bursts from my lips. "It's not like anyone cares."

Her expression falls, and I know immediately that was a bad answer. She hangs her head and whispers. "But I'd like to see you smile."

My mouth was open in shock. "No…no one's ever, _ever_, told me that before."

She looks back up at me. "I've seen you smile once. It was beautiful. And…I'd-I'd like to see it again."

My face is blushing a deep red. As an automatic reflex, my hand goes to my hat to pull it down farther. However I notice it and instead of pulling it down, I take it off and place it back on the table.

Then I give her a smile. Not a huge one, but it was a smile. Her entire face lights up, and I wish I could keep it like that forever. She actually was really beautiful. Wait…I've said that before. Well, it's not any less true.

One of the waiters comes by and puts our food down on the table, as well as two glasses of red wine. Chelsea takes hers with a smile. "Legal drinking age, remember?"

She laughs and takes a huge gulp out of it, as I sip mine. Then we begin to eat. I'd ordered Spaghetti and Chelsea had ordered a small thing of porridge.

I finish mine quickly, as I'd been deprived of food all day. Chelsea's only poked at her food though, having just eaten.

"May I?" I ask her.

She looks up and nods. I take a spoon and finish her porridge for her. Now that I had warm food in my stomach I felt much better.

Chelsea is just about to stand up, but I put my hand on her arm. "Can you sit for a while longer?"

She nods and stays seated. I take a deep breath in. "You know how Julia told you that I have a rough past? That first day you met me?"

Once again she nods, all her attention focused on me entirely. "Well, it's true. I told you about my mom already. My dad left the day he found out she was pregnant; and they were already married. But after he'd gone about ten miles, he realized how much he truly loved my mom and that he really did want a family with her. On his way back, he got in a car accident and died. In his car were three dozen red roses and a note that said 'I'm sorry I ran away. But I only did it to realize that I was going in the wrong direction. I love you, and I want to have a family with you.' My mom got the note, but she never saw her husband again."

I pause to gauge her reaction. Nervously, I tap the table with my fingers. Her eyes seem to be piercing me, so look down at my hand. As I watch it, a smaller hand wraps itself around mine and silences the tapping.

The move gives me courage to go on. "I hated him for dying on her. I hated that I didn't have a father. But that's not the only reason I'm messed up."

I look up at her and gaze deeply in her eyes, trying to get her to understand. For some reason, I really wanted her to accept me. "I dated a girl in high school, for all four years. I thought I was going to marry her."

I sigh gently. "Long story short, she broke my heart in the worst way possible and I've never recovered. I closed myself off from the world, thinking it would keep me safe from that kind of pain again."

"Did it work?" She whispers softly.

I shake my head. "No. All it did was remind me daily of how she rejected me. That purple ribbon on my hat, she'd given it to be after we'd been going out for a year. We've been broken up for six years now and I only just took it off."

My hands clench as I take in another deep breath. Her hands close tighter around mine, as if she thought she could take my pain away from me. "Sometimes, I try to open up to people but it never works. There's just no one I connect with."

Her eyes glance downward slightly and then look back at mine. I sigh again. "You remember Will, right? And his uncle and cousin that will be moving here?"

She nods her head again. "His cousin, her name is Sabrina. She has dark black hair and light purple eyes. She wears round glasses and always dressed in pink and purple. There's a pink bow she has in the back of her hair that she always wears. She loves pink diamonds. And she's my ex-girlfriend."

Instead of releasing my hand like I thought she would, Chelsea scoots her chair closer and then wraps her arms around me in a hug.

I'm shocked, so I don't put my arms around her. In my ear, she whispers; her breath warm and intoxicating. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

My arms snake around her as I hug her back. We sit that way for a minute, her consoling me while I try not to cry or let my fantasies come back.

Suddenly the music seems to be a little louder. I let go of Chelsea and look behind me. The chef and his staff had cleared a part of the restaurant. For a minute I'm confused, and then it hits me.

Chelsea speaks up. "I know this song."

I'll admit, it has a nice beat to it. And it seemed like it was country, instead of whatever stupid rap music is playing now.

_Seems I was walking in the wrong direction_

_I barely recognized my own reflection, no_

_Scared of love, but scared of life alone_

One of the waiters catches my eyes. He makes a motion like he's dancing with someone. I sigh and roll my eyes at him. At least no one else was in the restaurant.

_Seems I've been playing on the safe side baby_

_Building up walls to save me, oh_

_But it's time for me to let it go _

I turn back to Chelsea. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"It's a slow song." She whispers, as if I couldn't tell.

"I know."

_Yeah I'm ready to feel now_

Chelsea takes my hand and we walk to the cleared area. She wraps her arms around my back as I wrap mine around her waist. We don't move much; just shift from side to side.

_No longer am I 'fraid of the fall down_

Then she lays her head on my chest, and my breath is nearly stolen from me. Her head seems to fit perfectly on my chest. Heck, _we_ seemed to fit perfectly together.

_It must be time to move on now_

Her breath is on my neck and sends shivers down my spine. Her hands on my back seem to fit perfectly, and they feel amazing.

_Without the fear of how it might end_

My hands on her were almost better than any of my fantasies. Just being with her like this made me feel weak at the knees; something I haven't felt in a long time.

_I guess I'm ready to love again_

I gently lay my head on top of hers and close my eyes. We sway back and forth, no longer concerned with the world around us.

_Just when you think that love will never find you_

_You run away but it's still right behind you, oh_

_It's just something that we can't control_

Finally it hits me. The lyrics to this song seemed to refer to me directly. Was I falling in love with Chelsea? Oh dear god, I hope so.

_Yeah I'm ready to feel now_

_No longer 'fraid of the fall down_

_It must be time to move one now_

_Without the fear of how it might end_

_I guess I'm ready to love again_

Chelsea moves to wrap her arms around my neck. This brings both of our heads up, so we're looking each other in the eye. She gives me a slight smile.

_So come and find me_

I give her a smile back. It makes her face light up, the way I treasure it to look. Without a word, I remove a hand from her t take my hat off and drop it on a nearby table.

_I'll be waiting for you_

Her hands reach up slowly. The tips on her fingers brush my skin and make my breath hitch. Then he fingers get to my hair. She softly strokes my hair out of my eyes, but once that's done she doesn't remove her hands.

_I'll be holding out for you tonight_

I tighten my grip on her, pulling her closer to me. My heart was pounding. Our bodies were pressed tightly together in the dance.

_Yeah, I'm ready to feel now_

_No longer am I 'fraid of the fall down_

Her tongue snakes out and wets her lips nervously. I can't help but stare and watch. She blushes when she catches my gaze; as I do as well.

_It must be time to move on now_

The lyrics were right. The girl in front of me was all that was on my mind right now. This song was trying to talk to me.

_Without the fear of how it might end_

My head leans down until my forehead rests against hers. Her eyes are close to mine and I gaze in admiration at the purity in them. Our eyes close as we lean in.

_I guess I'm ready, ready to love again_

I can feel her breath on mine again, and I want so badly to kiss her. But I pause too long. The song ends abruptly and someone taps me on the shoulder.

Furious, I turn on the servant that bothered me. He appears nervous at me obvious anger. "Excuse me sir, but we need you to leave now. We're closed."

"Vaughn, it's okay. Let's go." Chelsea tugs on my arm.

I growl at the servant and then put on my hat. Chelsea puts her rucksack back on as well and then we leave.

I walk her back to her house in silence, mentally kicking myself the whole way. Why couldn't I kiss her? I wanted to, so bad. And I think she wants to as well. I don't know what was stopping me, I just hadn't done it. I'd had at least three or four chances today, and I blew them all.

We reach her door, and she turns to me. I notice in horror that she's been silently crying.

"Chelsea, why are you crying?" I ask her softly as I take her face and wipe away her tears. "Your eyes are too beautiful for there to be tears in them."

"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you? And you won't be coming back." Another tear streaks down her face.

I stop it. "What makes you think that?"

"Sabrina. You don't want to be around her, so you'll move away won't you? You'll stop coming to the islands." She sniffles and more tears run down her face.

I swear I heard the walls around my heart fall at that moment. My heart still may be a little cold, but I wasn't going to make her sit there and cry.

I gather her in my arms and hold her tight. "I'm not going anywhere."

She pokes her head up to look at me. "Really?"

"Really." I give her a smile and she smiles back, the tears stopping. "In fact, I'm not going back to my job in the city for another six weeks."

"Did you get fired?" She asks worriedly.

"No, my boss gave me a vacation. So I'm spending it here."

She bites her bottom lip, but she's smiling. "I'm glad."

"And I will see you tomorrow morning." I tell her.

"I'm getting my first cow tomorrow. You want to help me pick one out?"

"Gladly."

She gets out of my grip and opens her door. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

I nod to her, giving her another smile just because it makes her happy. She bits her bottom lip again and then rushes forward. In one swift motion she reaches up and kisses me gently on the cheek. Then she retreats back to her house and the door closes softly behind her.

A real huge grin spreads across my face. And it stays on my face as I walk back to the Animal Shop and fall into bed.


	7. A New Day

**Yes! I got to update again! Please review! I love hearing your comments! It helps me write the next chapter faster! ;) Btw, a new day doesn't mean it's a good day...does it? *bum bum bum; dramatic music***

* * *

**A New Day**

_I'm running through a forest. Where I am, I have no idea. Where I'm going, doesn't matter. The soft grass tickles the soles of my feet as I run. The leafy foliage around me gives easily to my presence._

_The run is very enjoyable, as I go at a steady pace. The sun shines on my face and the wind blows through my hair, refreshing me._

_Suddenly, the sun disappears. The sky is replaced by dark threatening clouds as rain begins to fall. What once was a refreshing breeze is now a hard, cold, bitter wind that nips at my heels. All of the leaves around me seem to reach out and grab a hold of me. _

_Sweat pours down my brow as I fight my way through the jungle. A howl echoes in the distance, and it's joined by a resounding course from other wolves. Fear clutches at my heart, because I know that they're coming for me._

_Faster and faster I try to move, but I only seem to go slower and slower. I can practically feel the ravenous wolves on my heels, but I press on._

_I break through a clump of trees, to find myself in the middle of a clearing. The sounds of the storm have all vanished. In confusion, I blink and look around._

_On the far side of the clearing, I spot a woman. Hesitantly, I approach her. The woman has sea-green hair, and is robed in an aqua-green dress that falls around her elegantly._

_As I approach, the woman turns around and looks at me. She has a kind face, one that looks young but has a clear wise look. She blinks kind green eyes at me and then smiles._

_"Hello Vaughn." Her voice is soft and loving. _

_"Who are you?" I hear myself asking._

_"I'm the Harvest Goddess." She answers. _

_"I thought the Harvest Goddess was a myth." I speculate._

_"All myth is based in truth." She tells me with a kind smile._

_I feel my previous tension melt away. Even if I didn't really believe she was the Harvest Goddess, she did have a soothing aura to her._

_"Why are you here?" I ask her._

_She lets out a sigh. It's filled with the pain of a thousand people, and for a minute I truly believe she is the Harvest Goddess. "I've been watching you for a while now Vaughn."_

_Somehow, this doesn't strike me as creepy. "Your life has been full of much pain and suffering. You've felt little warm emotions in your life."_

_"You want to tell me something I didn't already know?" I snap at her. Talking about my past was something I could barely manage with Chelsea, let alone a complete stranger._

_Chelsea. Her name floats around my head like a bee in a field of flowers. She made me feel peaceful, even in my unconscious state of mind._

_"Yes, Chelsea." The Harvest Goddess says like she's read my mind. "You think about her often don't you?"_

_I nod silently. It was impossible to lie to this woman. She smiles sadly. "And the other girl, Sabrina. She crosses your mind often too."_

_It's phrased as a statement, not a question; but it's still true. Glumly, I nod. The Harvest Goddess reaches out to pat my shoulder comfortingly._

_"You must have patience Vaughn. All things work out eventually. How you want them to work out is up to you."_

_"How is that supposed to help me?" I snap at her again, more in despair for myself than anger at her._

_Abruptly, the leaves behind her rustle. The Harvest Goddess doesn't seem the slightest concerned when a girl steps out into the clearing._

_"Chelsea." Her name escapes my lips in a breath as I gaze at her._

_She smiles at me. The smile that makes my heart pound faster every time I see it. Her face is just so lovely; I can't do anything but stare and watch her._

_Then the leaves rustle again. Another girl steps out from the leaves and stands next to Chelsea. My heart seems to stop when I realize who it is._

_"Sabrina." The words don't come out of my mouth; they're just a whisper on the wind._

_She smiles at me. A little timid smile that used to make me hunger for her. It does nothing but break my heart all over again._

_Anxiously, I turn to the Harvest Goddess. "Why?" I ask her in despair. "Why would you do this to me?"_

_The Harvest Goddess gives me a sad smile. "Only you may choose your own destiny Vaughn. And remember, life always gets worse before it gets better. But, you always have a choice. "_

_Before I can blink, she's just gone. I look back to the two girls. Both are still smiling at me, and both are fading away._

_The clearing closes in on me, and I hear the howling of the wolves again. Once again, the sun is gone and the rain is back in its place. As the rain drips down my face and blurs my vision, the storm comes back; harder than before._

_Both girls in front of me are disappearing fast. As they vanish, I cry out a name; but the thunder covers my yell and I can't hear what I said._

_The clearing closes in on me, making me feel trapped. The rain pelts down on my skin, burning with every drop. Wolves snap at me, attacking me from all angles. I cry out in pain as they bite me, piercing me with their razor sharp teeth._

_I want to run, but I can't move. I can't run from my troubles any longer. As I'm down on the ground being ripped to shreds by the wolves, I feel a calm spread over me._

_I was drowning in water and a pool of my own blood. The forest around me was smothering me, blocking my breathing. Wolves were eating me alive as I lay there, but I felt calm. No longer screaming, or in pain._

_I feel a lone tear trace its way down my face. Tranquilly, I take in one more breath. Then I feel something pierce my heart, and I let out a blood-curdling scream._

* * *

I bolt up in my bed, gasping for breath. I've drenched in sweat, and I'm twisted in my blankets. My heart is beating faster than it ever has before, though I'm glad that it's okay and still pumping away.

Gradually, my breathing begins to slow down. I lick my dry lips purely for comfort. My hands clench and unclench over and over again.

After what seems like ages, my breathing has calmed down and so has my heart rate. I glance at the clock to find that it's almost eight in the morning.

"Well that was different." I mutter. Nightmares were a regular thing for me, but this one had been different than all the others.

My stomach growls at me. I growl back at it. "You can never get enough food, can you?"

It growls back at me in response. I sneer at it in disgust, and then throw off my covers. I'd have to go take a shower, but my stomach couldn't seem to wait.

Tiredly, I make my way to the kitchen. As soon as I enter, a squeal comes up from my cousin.

"Ugh, Vaughn! Cover up please!" Julia scolds me.

I roll my eyes and flip her off. She huffs and leaves the room. As I gather my usual breakfast of porridge and milk, my aunt speaks up.

"You should cover up Vaughn."

"I'm wearing pants." I mutter to her. "She's probably seen Elliot with less clothing on."

"Vaughn." Mirabelle warns me with her tone.

I shrug. My nightmare was still really bugging me. Mirabelle speaks up again. "Are you okay Vaughn?"

"Why?" I spoon in more porridge so I don't have to say anything else.

"You're sweating dear." Mirabelle pauses.

"So?" I shrug between spoonfuls. I've never told anyone about my nightmares, and I wasn't about to start now.

Mirabelle sighs. "I'm just worried about you Vaughn. You're always by yourself, and I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."

I snort. That was great. Six weeks of this was going to kill me.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." I brush her off as I finish breakfast and then wash my dishes.

I leave before she can say anything else, and immediately go to take a shower. Before I get in the shower, I rub my jaw. There was a bit of stubble all along my jaw. I'd have to shave that.

The shower calms me down even more, and erases all the stress from my nightmare. The hot water is just as refreshing as ever, and I emerge red from the temperature.

I spend a few extra minutes to shave, denying to myself the real reason I was shaving. Even though my nightmare had been awful, it was a little bit more preferable to some of the dreams I had about Chelsea. Some were great, but others…others made me ashamed to be a guy with male hormones.

I leave the bathroom a good thirty minutes after eating breakfast. With a towel wrapped around my waist, I head to my bedroom to change.

After I'm fully dressed, I head back out to the main room. Mirabelle smiles at me, bright as ever. She doesn't hold grudges and accepts me even when I'm an asshole to her. Ah family. They're great to me, but I always seem to reject their kindness. Maybe that would fix itself later.

"By the way," Mirabelle starts. "I was going to tell you earlier, but you practically ran out of the room."

I cock an eyebrow at her, and she continues. "Chelsea was here earlier. She bought a cow. She had asked for you, but I told her you were still sleeping. Just thought you might want to know."

_Fuck._ The thought crosses my mind automatically. I had told her that I would be there when she bought the cow. Great. Nightmare, and now this. Could the day get any worse?

"Is there something going on between you two?" Mirabelle probes me.

"We're friends." I growl out.

Mirabelle looks surprised. "Really? Well I'm happy for you dear, but haven't you been avoiding her for the past six weeks?"

She noticed that? I guess Mirabelle was more observant than I gave her credit for. As an answer, I shrug.

Julia comes bounding in the doorway with Elliot in tow. She smiles at me. "It's nice to see you fully dressed Vaughn."

My eyes narrow at her as I resist the urge to flip her off again. Elliot mutters a quick hello to me as he's dragged by Julia to her room.

"Keep the door open!" Mirabelle shouts to her as I hear the slam of a door. I shudder.

The door to the Animal Shop opens again. This time it's Denny. He grins at Mirabelle and me, and then sits down at the counter beside me.

"Hey man. What's up?" He asks.

"Denny it's only nine in the morning. You're actually awake?" Mirabelle asks him, her words reflecting my shock.

He shrugs. "Yeah…I was talking to Lanna."

A light goes on in my head. I knew her. "You mean the one hit pop singer that moved in to the meadow?"

"Yeah you met her?" Denny appears surprised.

"That's not exactly the way I'd phrase it, but yeah, I guess." I wince slightly under my hat at the memory of our encounter.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" Denny sighs happily. "And she loves fishing! How amazing is that?"

Mirabelle laughs. "It seems like you have quite the crush Denny."

"Yes ma'am." Denny sighs and rests his head on the counter. "We talked for an hour about our favourite types of fishing rods."

I grimace. "Yeah, true love."

Denny shoves me. "Shut up man. I got dirt on you, so don't mock unless you want the cat out of the bag!"

I freeze. What did Denny mean? What possible dirt could he have on me? Then it hits me. Denny lived on the beach. One of the places I'd nearly kissed Chelsea.

My mouth snaps shut. I don't know why, but I didn't want to tell anyone. We weren't even really together anyway.

Denny grins at me. "That's what I thought. Well, I'm going to go talk to Lanna again. See y'all!"

He leaves with a wave and a smile, and then he disappears from our view. I chuckle softly to myself. "Well aren't we busy today?"

Mirabelle sighs. "If only more people were coming to actually _buy_ things." She shakes her head and then leaves for the back.

I roll my eyes and glance out the window. My gaze is caught by something I don't like at all. Quickly I rise from my seat and rush out of the shop.

"Yes, this island is beautiful. It pleases me to no end." Will's voice floats to me from a distance. "You yourself are looking particularly elegant today fair maiden."

There's scowl on my face when I approach them. Chelsea sees me and her eyes fill with relief. The she turns to Will.

"It was great talking to you, but I really have to go now." She smiles at him.

My scowl deepens but to my pleasure, Will has a slight frown on his face. "Our chat was simply delightful. I would be ever so happy if we could do this again."

She nods eagerly. "Yeah, we'll defiantly going to have to do this again."

Will's face brightens, and I'm about ready to growl at him. Then his smile gets wider. "You simply must dine with me tonight."

I'm so shocked I can't even speak. Chelsea looks desperately at me and then answers him. "I can't. I'm- I'm busy. I'm having supper with Natalie and Elliot tonight."

Will just waves his hand. "You have dinner with them every other night. I'm sure they won't mind."

Chelsea looks at me one more time, but I'm still in shock. She sighs and then gives him a light smile. "Okay Will. I'll have supper with you tonight."

His ever present grin gets wider. "Excellent. I'll pick you up at seven."

Then he steps forwards and kisses Chelsea gently on the cheek. Her eyes go wide, but he turns around and leaves a mere moment later.

I step forward to go after him, but Chelsea puts a hand on my arm. She sighs heavily and then shudders, like she was trying to get rid of the memory.

"Forget him Vaughn. He's not important." She whispers to me.

"I'd still like to punch him in the nose." I mutter. "Stupid Brit guy thinks he can us waltz in here and take any girl he likes."

I scoff. "And he prides himself on being a gentleman. The nerve."

Chelsea smiles at me. "Forget him Vaughn." Then she brightens. "Do you want to see my cow?"

I cock an eyebrow at her. "Depends. What did you name him?"

She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me nervously. "Amethyst."

My eyebrows crease in confusion. "That's not a bad name. Where did you get the inspiration for that?"

Chelsea blushes deeply. "Your eyes."

I blush along with her as I pull my hat down. It was an amazing feeling to blush at something a girl says to me.

"I'd love to see him." I tell her kindly.

We walk to her farm. It's the second time I've ever been here. I'm pleased to note that her house was a bit bigger and more stable looking. Her field was a bit clearer and there was an entire row of grass planted, as well as two rows of crops.

She smiles. "It's coming along nicely, isn't it?"

I nod in agreement and we walk over to the barn. Chelsea walks over to a very happy looking cow. "Mirabelle taught me all about taking care of cows, so you don't have to."

She smiles briefly at the cow as she strokes it behind the ears. It moos softly as her, and for the second time in my life, I'm jealous of her animals.

Then she gives me a puzzled look. "Mirabelle told me that you were sleeping. Are you okay? You've never slept that late before. You've always been up at six every morning."

I lower my hat. "It was nothing."

Chelsea takes a step closer to me. "You can tell me Vaughn."

I shrug and pull my hat down tighter. "I was up late."

She sighs. "Alright then." It's obvious she doesn't believe me.

"It was just a nightmare." I blurt out. "No big deal."

"You want to talk about it?" She asks me softly.

I shake my head. It seemed a little weird to me, telling her about a dream she was in. Was it natural to dream about your friends?

I gaze at Chelsea as she brushes Amethyst. Her brown hair falls over her shoulder and her blue eyes seem to sparkle. She talks softly to the cow in a sweet kind voice. I knew that I didn't want to be just friends with her.

"Chelsea." I whisper. Her head snaps up like I'd yelled her name instead.

She must have seen something on my face because she drops her brush in her rucksack and walks over to me.

"About Will," I start, losing my nerve in her electric blue eyes.

She smiles and laughs. "It's nothing. We're just eating together."

"That's not what's on his mind." I mutter, knowing fully well the things that could go through a man's mind at the sight of Chelsea.

She frowns. "I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm by it."

"He freaking kissed you on the cheek! I think he means harm!" My voice rises _just a bit._ Okay, a little more than a bit.

Chelsea smirks and leans forward to kiss me on the cheek. Her lips linger on my skin longer than necessary, and a shiver goes down my spine.

"Like that?" She whispers as she backs up.

I let out a breath. "That could defiantly do things to a man's mind."

She smiles. "Like?"

I give her a look. "You do know what you look like, right?"

Chelsea shrugs. "I'm not pretty. Not like Julia or Lanna. They've got good looks."

"You're beautiful." I whisper to her.

Then I take a step forward and wrap my arms around her. She feels good pressed up against me. Her hair smells a bit like lavender. I love it all.

"Vaughn?"

I lean back and look into her hypnotic blue eyes. "Yes?"

"Are we- are we, um, together?" Her face looks extremely hopeful.

My answer is stuck in my throat. Images of my past relationship flash through my mind so fast it make my head spin. The heartbreak, the sorrow, the betrayal.

I let go of her and take a step back. "I-I don't…know."

My eyes meet hers. We're both shocked. I start stammering, trying to explain to myself as much as her. "It's just, I don't know if I can go through anymore heartbreak. And my dream, I think it was a warning. Something's going to happen, that's going to cause me pain. And, and I don't know if I can do that again."

I realize that I'm blabbing like crazy, so I shut myself up. Then I back against a wall and slide down it till I hit the ground. "I don't know." The words are whispered this time.

She walks up to me and squats down. "I won't hurt you Vaughn."

I want to believe her so bad. But I've been hurt so many times before. My hands reach up and cover my face.

"I might hurt you though." I mumble through my hands.

Chelsea puts her hands on mine and takes them away from me. "As long as you're with me, you won't hurt me."

Roughly I push her away. The panic from my dream was coming back fast. "I can't Chelsea. I can't do this."

My head starts to pulse with pain. In a panic, I remember that I had forgotten my pills at my apartment. I hadn't taken them for a good two days. My stomach starts to heave and a coldness spreads through my body as I feel a slight sweat beginning to form on my brow.

"Vaughn." Chelsea whispers.

I turn my back on her so she doesn't see me like this. My head throbs again and all I want is to get out of there. She puts her hand on my back and I turn around and snap at her.

"Damn it Chelsea, leave me alone!" The words come out harsh, but I'm not thinking clearly. For a second, the room tilts sideways but after a second it rights itself. "You don't want me. I have too much crap in my life. You're better off with someone else."

I barely hear what I'm saying. All that mattered was getting out of there. When her hand releases me, I take the chance and run out of the barn. Less than a minute later as I'm stumbling out of her farm, I can't even remember what I was doing there.

My stomach heaves again, and I stop to briefly throw up on the side of the road. I stagger a few more paces. This was worse than it's ever been before. I see the Animal Shop a short distance away. Maybe if I could reach the phone I could call for a shipment of pills.

I begin to walk towards the shop. My head is pounding like crazy and my limbs feel too weak to support my body. I blink my eyes rapidly, but it seems to be getting dark outside.

My eyes blink one more time before the darkness swarms over me and I fall to the ground.


	8. Sickness and Heartbreak

**Alright! I got another chapter up quickly! Please review and tell me what you think! I'm not posting another chapter until I have at lest twenty reviews! Thank you all so much!**

* * *

**Sickness and Heartbreak**

I drift in and out of consciousness. Different people's faces float in front of my vision. Julia's comes first as she looks at me in a panic. Elliot's follows quickly as he moves close to me. After that, I feel like I'm moving but I quickly black out again.

The next face I see is Mirabelle's. She places something cold on my head, and for a minute it feels good. Then my head starts burning again and her face fades out of view.

After, Denny's face shows up with a pretty blond beside him. In the back if my mind I know that this girl was Lanna. I can both of their lips moving, but I can't hear any of their conversation. Denny puts something to my lips and makes me drink a liquid. It's only water, but it burns my throat. His face fades quickly after he removes the glass.

In what seems like no time at all, I see another face. It's Natalie. She smiles at me and talks to me, but I can't hear anything she says. I do manage a small smile at her before I blank out again.

Time seems to have no more meaning to me. Will's face is the next to slide into my vision. He appears smug, and I hate that he's here. I can't hear myself, but I now that I'm cussing him out and calling him every dirty word I know. He just laughs as I fade back to unconsciousness.

I get a bunch more visitors. The little girl Eliza comes with the boy Charlie and they sit on my bed while arguing with themselves. Gannon comes briefly and puts something on my head that relieves the heat a bit. Felicity comes with Chen and they feed me some sort of food that I manage to choke down, while feeling like I'm going to hurl it back at them. Taro comes and would have talked my ear off, had I been able to hear. But the one person I really want to see never comes.

The visitor is always a different person every time I manage to struggle to consciousness. After I sink back to oblivion, it's harder and harder to get back. And every time it gets harder to stay.

My head pounds like a hammer was being wacked against it every other second. The back of my throat burned like liquid fire was being poured down it. All of my limbs felt like jelly, and I don't think I could have moved if I had wanted too. And all my limbs ached too. Every time I slipped into unconsciousness was a moment of bliss.

My eyes flutter open again, and I see someone I hadn't seen in a while. My boss is sitting on my bed with a glass of water in his hand. He seems to be talking to me, but I still can't hear him.

He takes two white pills, shows them to me and then drops them in the water. They looked vaguely familiar, but I still couldn't think straight. Then he puts the glass to my lips and makes me drink the whole thing.

My head clears a bit even a few seconds after I've taken the pills. I give my boss a smile and then I sink into sleep for the first time, instead of oblivion.

When I wake next, Julia is sitting by my bed. I still can't hear anything she's saying, but my head doesn't hurt nearly as bad and my limbs don't feel like jelly anymore. She holds up a glass of water and drops two little white pills inside. She holds the water to my lips and I drink eagerly. After drinking it, I fall back into my peaceful, dream-free sleep.

My eyes flutter open again, in what seems like mere seconds. To my astonishment, my throat no longer burned and I could actually hear sounds again.

Mirabelle is by my bed this time. "Vaughn? Vaughn, can you hear me?"

"I hear you." I croak out, my voice rusty from lack of use.

She sighs in relief and I see a tear leak out of her eye. "That's great dear. Here, your boss said you need to take two more of these and you'll be able to talk to us tomorrow."

Shakily, I reach out a hand for the glass of water with the pills. Instead Mirabelle helps me drink it, and I appreciate it. Right afterwards, I fall asleep once again.

I open my eyes again to find the entire town in my little bedroom. My head no longer hurt, and my body no longer burned or felt like jelly. Was still a bit sore, but not any worse than after a normal day of work.

"Vaughn!" Julia is the first one to cry out my name. She's right beside me and she wraps her arms around me as I sit up in bed.

To her surprise, I wrap an arm around her and give her a slight squeeze back. For a minute no one says anything. I'm scanning the crowd, but the person I want to see isn't there.

Then everyone begins to speak at once. Even though I could hear again, I couldn't make out anything that was being said. I blink a few times in confusion as I sit there.

Abruptly, a piercing whistle slices through the air and stops the chatter. The crowd parts to reveal my boss with his finger near his mouth in case he needed to whistle again. Next to him was a black haired man wearing a lab coat.

"All right everyone!" My boss calls out. "I want everyone who is not family or close friend to please leave the building! You can visit later, but Dr. Trent needs to examine him."

With many grumbles, everyone files out of the room. When they're gone the only people left in the room are me, Julia, Mirabelle, Denny, my boss and the man in a lab coat.

That man walks up to me. "My name is Dr. Trent. I've from Mineral Town, but your aunt called me to check and see if you were alright."

I nod at him. He gives me a light smile. "Let's begin."

He goes through all the normal doctor stuff. Checks my temperature. Looks in my ears. Looks in my throat. Listens to my heartbeat. All that jazz.

When he's done he backs away and smiles. "You're lucky Vaughn. If your boss hadn't taken the liberty to check up on you when you didn't show for work, you might not have been so lucky."

I'm confused. Didn't show up for work? What was the doctor talking about? Before I can ask, he turns to Mirabelle. "Well, I must be off. Flu season is coming late back home and I'm needed there."

"Thank you for coming Dr. Trent." She thanks him gratefully.

"My pleasure." He smiles at her and then nods at me. Just before he leaves the room, he turns around and speaks to me. "Don't forget those pills again."

I nod to him and then he's gone. My stomach growls right after. I growl right back at it. "Are you never satisfied?"

"You should be hungry." Julia tells me, her voice laced with worry.

"Yeah man." Denny says. "You haven't eaten in a long time."

"How long?" I ask as Julia leaves the room to get me something to eat.

"Vaughn, it's almost the end of fall." Mirabelle tells me softly.

"WHAT?" I practically scream this at the top of my lungs. "It's the middle of summer! I haven't been out for more than a few days…"

My boss shakes his head. "Son, believe it. If it was still summer, you would still be in that coma thing."

"I was in a coma?" I ask.

Mirabelle nods. "Pretty much. Your eyes opened every so often, but other than that you were basically in a coma."

"Yeah man it was scary." Denny shivers. "Doc even had to jump start your heart once. You were barely hanging on to life."

Julia walks in with a bowl of porridge. "And don't you ever do that again! Do you have any idea how scared I was when Elliot and I stumbled across you? Lying on the ground and looking like you had just kneeled over and died?"

She hands me the porridge and I begin to eat it. "I'm sorry." She apologizes for her quick outburst.

I look at my boss. "I'll come to work tomorrow."

He shakes his head. "No you aren't. You're going to stay here for at least a week and recover. I'd give you longer, but I really do need you back sometime. You can't keep lengthening your vacation." He laughs. "Rest and get better Vaughn. I will see you next week."

He smiles at me. "And there's a bottle of pills on your bedside table. Don't forget them again." With that, he leaves.

I sink back into my pillow as I eat my porridge. For a minute there's no sound other than everyone's breathing and the sound of my spoon hitting the bowl.

The Julia bursts out. "Why the hell didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you what?" I ask back as I slurp up the rest of my porridge.

"Don't play dumb Vaughn. Why didn't you tell us about your disease?" Julia's tone softens a bit, but it still has a bit of anger in it.

I shrug. "You never asked and I didn't' think it was important for you to know."

Julia yells into the air and kicks my bed. She doesn't leave the room, but she stands there in a mad mess. Denny speaks up for her. "Vaughn, man. Until your boss came, we spent a little over six weeks watching you _die_. Before our very eyes. Mirabelle and Julia were a freaking mess. No one had any idea what to do."

I sigh as I put my bowl down on the floor. "I'm sorry guys. I thought I had it under control. I'm sorry I worried you all so much. I promise it will never happen again."

This makes them pause. They'd never heard me apologize before and now I'd done it twice in one sentence.

Mirabelle speaks up for the first time. "So, what is this disease?"

I sigh. "I don't know the name. It's really long and complicated, but it's extremely rare. Maybe one in a billion people have it. There's no cure, but there is a treatment for it. As long as I take the pill regularly everything goes fine."

I sigh again and lean farther back into my pillow. "And when I forget to…well, you saw yourself what happens."

"What does it do exactly?" Julia whispers as she sits down on my bed beside me.

"In scientific terms, or normal ones?"

She thinks for a second. "Normal ones."

"It stops you from hearing. It clouds your thoughts and you can't think straight at all. You get short term memory loss and your head pounds like someone's driving a nail into your skull. Your throat burns and all food or drinks you try to put down either get stuck in your throat or you throw up a moment later. Your stomach churns like a shaken soda and you feel like you need to throw up every second. Your limbs feel like jelly and most of the time you can't move." I describe the feeling I had gone through as best as I can.

There's fear on their faces and I close my eyes to get away from it. Denny speaks up softly beside me as he joins my family by sitting on my bed. "What happens if you don't take the pill?"

"I die." I tell him plainly. "No one can tell me how long I can go without it before dying, but I honestly don't want to find out."

Beside me I hear a sniffle. I look over and see Julia crying. "Oh Julia, don't cry." I tell her as I wrap my arms around her. "I'm not dead."

She sniffles again. "I think that coma did something to your head."

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

Julia sniffles again and then lets out a small laugh. "You're actually being nice."

I laugh softly. "You don't like it? I can be nice you know."

She turns out of my arms and looks at me. "How come you're deciding to be nice now?"

I give her a slight smile. "While I was in the coma, I caught flashes of things happening in front of me. Almost every single person on the island came to see me at least once. It made me realize that people really did care for me; at least a little bit. So maybe, I could be a bit nicer."

She laughs and the others join in. I smile slightly and then lean back into the pillow, closing my eyes.

"That's a great idea Vaughn." Mirabelle tells me. "Now why don't you rest a bit? We'll keep everyone else at bay, until you're reading to talk."

I nod at her, and she leaves with Julia. Denny stays behind and looks like he has something to say. He swallows and then looks me in the eye.

"I have something to tell you man." He starts. But just before he can continue, someone runs into the room.

The long black hair and purple eyes are as familiar as my own looks. Sabrina looks like she's slightly short of breath, and her glasses are askew. Her outfit is just as I remember it, but she seems different. She looks a little more tired, and more run down. And she's defiantly not as beautiful as I remember.

"Vaughn." She sighs in relief. "I just got the news you were sick and came rushing over."

My eyes narrow at her in hatred. "Why are you here?"

"We moved in next to the mine two days ago. I just learned that you were sick from Will a few minutes ago." Sabrina explains. "You look good though."

"No thanks to you." I mutter.

She takes a step forward. "Vaughn."

"Don't come any closer." I warn her, my tone dangerous. Not that I could do anything. I wonder if Denny would sic on her if I asked.

She does stop though. I gather in a breath and then I start to yell at her. "You have _no_ right to be here! You shouldn't care how I am at all! Not after you broke my heart and ruined my _life!_"

I take in another deep breath. "All for some other guy! Are you happy now with him?" Then I glance at her finger and notice she's not wearing a ring.

She holds her head up high. "He's dead. He died two years after we got married in a car accident. I have no children."

I snort. "Serves you right."

"Vaughn, please. I'm so sorry-" She starts but I cut her off.

"Sorry? YOU are sorry? Don't give me that crap Sabrina. I'm not taking you back." I know my tone is harsh, but I don't care. This girl wasn't going to break me again.

"Just listen." She begs.

"Get out." I say softly.

Sabrina doesn't move. I give her ten seconds counted in my head. Then I explode at her. "GET THE FUCKING HELL OUT OF THIS HOUSE SABRINA!"

Her eyes widen and she quickly scurries from the room. I lean back into the pillow in exhaustion. Who knew yelling took up so much energy?

Denny clears his throat. "That was awkward for me."

"Sorry Denny." I apologize. "Old history."

"Okay." He says. The he takes another deep breath. "As I said before, I have something to tell you."

"Well?"

"Remember back in summer, when I said I had dirt on you?" He looks really nervous.

I nod my head. "That part of the day I remember. Actually I don't remember anything after I started walking with Chelsea to go see her new cow."

Denny frowns. "Yeah, that's not good. I think. I'm not sure if you want that memory."

"Why? What happened?" I ask him urgently.

He licks his lips nervously. "Well, earlier you said that when you were in the coma you saw almost all the villagers come and visit, right?"

I nod and he sighs. "There was one person you didn't see, right? It was Chelsea wasn't it?"

I nod again in fear. In my head, a flash of Will's face comes through. He'd acted really smug, but I couldn't hear what he's said.

Denny takes another deep breath. "That day Julia found you passed out on the road from her farm. But no one saw a connection. I did, because I saw you almost kiss her on the beach. That was my dirt on you by the way."

"Go on." I say, my voice guarded.

"Well, I decided to follow Chelsea around because she didn't talk to anyone. She didn't even come when Julia practically screamed bloody murder." Denny sighs. "Chelsea tended her crops and animals for the rest of the day. Then at seven o'clock, Will showed up and began to walk with her back to his ship. I followed stealthily."

I roll my eyes at the last sentence. Denny continues. "Chelsea was clearly upset, and Will asked her about it. She spilled the whole story. Chelsea told him that you said they could never be together because of the crap that goes on in your life. She said you basically yelled at her to get the hell away."

Denny grimaces. "She didn't say anything else so she's the only one who knows the details of it. You don't remember it, so you'll have to ask her what happened. Though I don't know if you'll be able to ask her."

"What happened?" I ask him, my tone deadly and quiet.

"Will kissed her. Practically made out with her. And," Denny sighs and gives me a sad look. "And they've been going out ever since."


	9. Pain

**Sorry everyone! I changed the name and summary for the story, I hope all my regular readers can still find it! I just hated the name I put up for it, so I changed it and the summary, because the summary was awful too.**

**Well, I got my twenty reviews I wanted. So you all get the next chapter! Please don't get mad at me! This chapter is necassary, though I will admit it was hard for me to write and I was crying the entire time.**

**I would like to thank LynAnn1996 and Yami's Girl 117 for revewing so much! I really appreciate it! My day brightens with every single review of it! For everyone else, I KNOW that you're reading it, so stop being such a chicken and REVIEW! I will love you forever if you do!**

**Oh, and I'm not posting the next chapter until I have at least twenty five reviews. *grins evilly* Have fun!**

* * *

**Pain**

"What?" My mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

Denny sighs and scoots a little farther from me. "I said that Chelsea has been dating Will ever since you went into that coma."

I blink my eyes once. Twice. Three times. Then I'm up off my bed and out of the room before Denny can stop me.

Mirabelle looks up from behind the counter as I pass, a surprised look on her face. She can't even get a word out before I'm out the door of the shop.

My feet trace the path towards Chelsea's farm. I had to know if this was true. It's not that I didn't trust Denny; I just wanted to hear the words from her mouth.

A couple people spot me as I march past, but they all just stop and stare in amazement. I ignore them all.

I hear Denny's voice calling from behind me. "Vaughn! What are you doing? You can't be up!"

I'm walking fast though and I hear his panting far behind me. Besides, I've reached the farm already. I notice that her farm was better than before. The field was half covered with grass and three quarters of the rest was full with crops. Then I notice there's a light on in the barn. Quickly I head for over there.

I push the door open, in the style you see in those movies with a dramatic scene. Man, I was just inviting the drama in, wasn't I? Maybe Julia was right: that coma had done something to my head.

"Vaughn!" A surprised squeak comes from a girl brushing a happy looking cow.

Her eyes automatically look down at her feet. Angrily, I step up to her. "Why the hell am I hearing that you're dating Will?"

She doesn't look up at me. Her eyes are trained on the cow as she continuously brushes the same patch of fur over and over again. "Because it's true."

"Why are you dating that loser?" I ask her.

She looks up at me for the first time. Her blue eyes are smoking in anger. "Because you told me to, damn it!"

I scoff. "There is no way I would ever tell you to date that asshole."

"That asshole is my boyfriend!" She screams in my face. "And you did tell me! You said that I was better off with someone else!"

"I don't fucking remember that!" I yell right back at her. "Damn it Chelsea, I've been in a coma for the past six weeks, excuse me if my memory is not perfect!"

Her eyes widen a bit, and I use it to my advantage. "And why the hell didn't you come visit?"

This time she laughs. It's a strangled little laugh, and sounds wrong coming out of her mouth. "I didn't think you would want to be around someone you thought you would hurt."

This makes me pause. "I said that?" The words are whispered.

She nods. "You said 'I can't Chelsea. I can't do this.' Then you yelled at me and said 'Damn it Chelsea, leave me alone! You don't want me. I have too much crap in my life. You're better off with someone else.'."

Chelsea looks back down at the ground. "So I did. Will likes me. A whole lot more than you do."

The whole memory flashes back to me. The kiss she'd given me on the cheek, the simply question I hadn't been able to answer, the sickness I'd felt. I hadn't been thinking clearly; I hadn't wanted to hurt her, I'd wanted to get of there before I threw up on her or something.

"Chelsea, I didn't mean it. Please just listen-" I start but she holds her hand up.

"Save it for someone who cares Vaughn." She whispers as she turns to go to the feeder.

I grab her arm and spin her around. "You're the only one who gives more than a crap about me. Please Chelsea."

She shoves me off. I see that her eyes are welling up with tears as she looks down at the ground. "Get away from me."

"Please." I beg her, my own eyes filling up with tears. She was the closest friend I'd had in years, and if I indulged myself, I could think I was falling in love with her.

She looks up and meets my eyes. Tears have spilt down her face as she whispers. "I-I…I hate you Vaughn."

Tears spill out of my own eyes. This couldn't be happening. Not again. My heart was breaking after I'd promised myself to never open it up again.

Suddenly I can't see and my legs wobble under me. I feel an arm snatch me and support me. A moment later, my eyes clear and Denny is standing beside me, my arm around his neck in support.

"I told you that you shouldn't be up." Denny mutters to me.

"Next time, you should wear some clothes before going to try and make up with a girl." He whispers in my ear. I glance down and notice I wasn't wearing anything other than a black pair of boxers.

I can't say anything. I know that if I do it will be followed by a sob and I couldn't show them my weakness. Instead I nod, and without a further word Denny takes me back to Mirabelle's.

Denny helps me lay back on the bed, and then he gives me two more pills to take. I swallow them and wash them down with a glass of water. He smiles at me sadly, and after promising to be back later, he leaves.

The second he's gone I bury my head in the pillow. Tears leak out of my eyes like a running faucet, and I manage to stifle the sobs coming from the back of my throat. Eventually, I cry myself to sleep.

* * *

_I thrash around as I attempt to swim in the vast ocean. My head keeps bobbing under the water, filling my lungs with water. Every time I manage to surface for a lungful of air, a huge waves crashes down on my head and sends me right back under again._

_Above the water, the air howls and the water pounds itself mercilessly. Rain is pouring down from the sky, adding to the anger of the sea. Lightening lights up the dark, evil looking clouds for a second, before plunging the world back into darkness. A mere moment later, thunder claps out so loud it hurts my ears._

_Then I'm dunked back under the water again. It's more peaceful under the water. Not as much noise going on and it's not as stressful. But something in the back of my mind keeps urging me back to the surface._

_The scene swirls around me, and I'm in a hospital. I don't have to think hard; I just know where I am. My beautiful mother lies on a hospital bed next to me. The least she knows is that her disease is going to show up in me; only ten times worse._

_She smiles at me, a warming smile that made me feel safe. I used to be like her. Warm and caring and nice. But people change._

_Then she beckons me closer. I know what's going to happen next, but instead the memory changes._

_"Vaughn." She whispers. "If you hate her, you must tell her. If you just want to be friends, you must tell her. If you love her, you must tell her and remind her every day."_

_I hear myself speaking to her, like the mother I wish I'd grown up with. "She said she hates me mom." My voice is weak and stained with tears._

_She smiles softly at me. "Women are very complex Vaughn. We don't always say what we mean."_

_"How am I supposed to figure out what to do?" I ask her desperately._

_Her blue eyes shine at me as she takes her wedding ring off and places it into mine. "Follow your heart, and you won't go wrong."_

_The scene swirls around again. I call out to her. I need to talk to her more. I wanted her help, her guidance, and her love. Everything from a mother that I should have had all my life._

_I'm back in school. In grade ten or something. As I walk down the halls, people poke fun of my cowboy outfit, but I ignore them. Then the poke fun at my attitude, at my heritage, and at my pathetic excuse for a life._

_My face remains stoic to show them their comments aren't getting to me. But as soon as I'm out of the building, I run to my secret spot on campus that no one else knew about. Their comments get to me each and every day. I use the alone time to hide the feelings; stuff them away in a box forever._

_A stray bunny hops by and comes over to me. Gently I pet its fur as I take my daily dose of medicine I'd been talking ever since my mother had died. I take them with a bottle of wine I had hidden in my backpack. Then I pop a couple of Advil pills and drown the rest of the alcohol to break down my feelings._

_The bunny hops away, and I get up to go to my next class, when the scene changes again._

_I'm at my apartment. There's a girl in my arms and I'm hugging her tightly. My heart leaps for a minute before I realize that it's Sabrina. My hope for Chelsea fades and I growl at myself in disgust. She doesn't seem to notice as she reaches up and kisses me fiercely on the lips._

_To my disgust, my body yearns for more. In sick remorse, I watch as if from afar my memory of the day my heart broke. Sabrina walks out of there just like she did six years ago. Though this time I notice I don't care._

_The scene shift again and images start flashing. I see an old photograph of my mother and father together, smiling. There's an image of a foster home I stayed at once where I was beat up daily by the other kids. There's an image of the day Mirabelle and Julia took me in under their wing. I see my first kiss with Sabrina at a stupid baseball game. I see the ring my mother gave me, stuck in my pocket. _

_Then the images become more recent. I see an image of Chelsea, smiling at me when we were first introduced. I see her angry eyes when I poked fun at her chicken's name. I see her gorgeous face blush when she told me my eyes were beautiful. I see her in tears when she thought I had died on the beach. I see us together at the inn; talking, smiling, laughing and dancing. I see the little kiss she planted on my cheek at the end of that night._

_Then our fights swirl before my eyes. I had been sick the first time, and was trying to spare her my own misery. The second time she was crying when she said she hated me. She also stuttered. Did that mean something?_

_All the images stop and suddenly I find myself in a clearing in the woods I've been to before. The green haired woman is there again, and I approach her softly._

_She speaks first. "I'm sorry Vaughn, but I had to interrupt your dream for a minute."_

_"It's okay." I say to her. "I didn't like my dream anyway."_

_The Harvest Goddess gives me a small smile. "It's been a while since our last chat, and for most of that time you've been in a coma."_

_I don't ask how she knows. I now believed she was the Harvest Goddess; she should know everything that goes on on her island. _

_She gives me a slight smile. "I see from your dream that you've made a choice."_

_I frown. "Not that it does me any good. Chelsea said that she hates me."_

_The Harvest Goddess smiles. "What did your mother tell you? Women don't always say what they mean. Be patient Vaughn."_

_I sigh. "I want to be patient, but don't know how I'll be able to handle it. She sounded like she really meant it. And I don't know if I can handle knowing that Will is the lucky bastard that gets to hold her."_

_She frowns slightly at my language. "Things aren't always as they appear. You have to understand."_

_I sigh and give her a slight smile. "I'll try."_

_The Harvest Goddess smiles. "I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but, try being a littler nicer to the islanders. You never know, it might do wonders for people's affections." Then she winks at me and vanishes._

* * *

I'm jolted out of my sleep by someone's hand slapping my face. My eyes blink open to Denny sitting on my bed beside me.

"What was that for?" I ask him as I rub my jaw. I take my hand back a moment later; I had a full grown beard from not shaving almost seven weeks now.

"You were calling out Chelsea's name in your sleep." He tells me, with a wonky look on his face. "Nightmare?"

"You have no idea." I mutter as I sit up in bed. The nightmares were a package deal with the disease. It was one of the side effects that the medicine couldn't treat.

"You're lucky it was me in here and not Julia." He grimaces. "She was in here earlier and I think she might have caught you whispering her name once, but I think she brushed it off."

I groan as I sit upright in bed. "What day is it?"

"A full day after your uber huge fight with Chelsea man." He grimaces again. "Sorry I stood and watched that by the way."

I wave my hand. "It's okay Denny. Can you pass me my pills?"

He gives me my pills and I chug them down with the ever present water on my bedside table. Denny smiles at me softly. "I have to go. I'm having breakfast at Lanna's."

"Have fun." I tell him absent mindedly. He gives me a funny look, but leaves with a wave.

I sigh as I get out of my bed. I was sweating again from the nightmare. Immediately, I head for the shower where I get rid of both the sweat and the beard.

When I enter the main area of the house, no one's there. Though a quick glance at the clock tells me that it's almost eight in the morning.

I grab some porridge and sit down at the counter, since I was fully dressed. For the first time in my life, the food tastes bland and I can't eat it. Disgusted, I push it away.

Julia walks in at that moment. She smiles at me softly. "Can't eat, huh?"

I shake my head slightly. She takes my bowl from me and puts it in the fridge to be eaten later. Then she walks back to me and sits on the stool next to me.

She places her hand on my arm. "Vaughn, I'm here for you to talk to me. If you ever want to get it out of your system."

I pat her hand with my free hand. "Thanks Juley." I use her old nickname I had for her. "But I'm okay with just thinking about things right now."

Julia smiles. "I don't know how long this nice you is going to last, but for the time I'll enjoy it." She gives me a hug and then leaves the shop just as Natalie walks in.

Natalie comes over and sits down on the same seat Julia had been occupying. She gives me a shy smile and then takes me hand and squeezes it. "I'm no Chelsea, but if you need a friend I'll be there for you."

I give her a slight smile. She'd come pretty often while I was in my coma. I squeeze her hand back a bit. "I'd like a friend right now."

* * *

** I know that you see the little yellow review button right below. Don't be shy, go ahead and click it. Even if it's only one word; I want to hear from ALL my readers! I don't even care it it's annonomys! Come on, move the mouse a little, click the little yellow button! (but please, no flames!)**


	10. Distance

**Thank you all for your reviews! I now have twenty five, just like I asked you! I actually wore my grandpa's coybow hat while writing this chapter. I felt so in character! ;D I need my own cowboy hat. Can we try for thirty review guys?**

* * *

**Distance**

The days pass by slowly, even painfully for me. But eventually, the week is up and I'm leaving to go back to my job. Hopefully the animals hadn't forgotten me.

I crack my back as I wait by the dock. There was still about an hour until the boat came, but I didn't have anything better to do. I'd had nightmares every single day for the past week, and they got worse every time. Without looking, I knew I had bags under my eyes.

Heavily, I sigh as I stare out into the ocean. I was leaning against one of the dock poles so I wouldn't get tired; which I found was happening a lot lately. And being nice was harder than I thought. Sometimes I would just snap and yell and someone for bothering me. Though, I didn't really talk much. I just waved at people when they walked by.

Footsteps echo on the dock. A girl with bright pink hair comes to stand beside me. Natalie and I had become pretty okay friends over the past week. She knew not to talk too much to me, and I greatly appreciated it. At the very least she understood my tough guy appearance, because she was that way too.

"You staring at the boat again?" Natalie asks me as her gaze follows mine to Will's ship moored out on the water.

I nod silently. If Natalie didn't know how I felt about Chelsea, she'd probably guessed it by now. I knew I was losing my poker face, but I didn't care. Let me wallow in my misery for a little longer, I don't care who knows it.

Natalie sighs and takes my hand. "I'm sorry."

I nod again and pull my hat closer over my eyes. Natalie knows not to push me, and we just stand there, her holding my hand in comfort.

For how long we stand there, I don't know. I must have zoned out, but it was comforting have another person around. Without the mindless chatter. The silence was enjoyable with someone else.

Suddenly I hear a boy's laughter and the sound of two more people approaching. I turn around to look, and wish that I hadn't.

Chelsea is talking with Will and it's obvious that he's laughing at whatever she said. He has his arm draped around her and when he looks up to see me, he purposely turns her and kisses her passionately on the lips.

I turn back around, my jaw clenching in anger. Unconsciously, my hands clench like they always do when I'm trying to control myself. Natalie lets out a small whimper, and I notice that was crushing her hand. Automatically I release it.

She rubs her sore hand and glances behind me. I keep my eyes trained on the water where the boat would appear and take me away from this cursed island.

Natalie looks back and her eyes are sparkling. She leans in close to me, so close that her body brushes mine. Then she stands on her tippy toes and whispers in my ear. "I think I know how to make her jealous."

"What? I don't want to make anyone jealous." I whisper back fiercely at her.

Natalie laughs and wraps an arm around my waist. I'm about to remove her hand when she whispers again. "It's pretty obvious you have a thing for Chelsea. If I'm your friend, you'll let me help you. I promise I won't go too far, but it will defiantly make Chelsea jealous."

I sigh. "I don't want to make her jealous. If she's happy with him, I'm not going to be the one to mess it up."

She snorts. "Bullshit. I can see in your eyes that you hate that she's with him. Let me try this. If it doesn't work, you can continue pitying yourself while you feel like killing yourself every time you see them."

Wow. Was all that really portrayed in my eyes? Normal people are weird, giving their emotions away like that; I didn't like it too much. Maybe I'd worm off the nice guy act more.

I grunt in agreement and nod my head. Natalie smile and wraps both her arms around me. Detached, I wrap my arms back around her.

Then she releases me and calls out in a louder voice than necessary so that Will and Chelsea were sure to hear. "Bye Vaughn! I'll miss you so much until you come back!"

I don't look back to see if they were buying it. My face was burning a scarlet red so I pull my hat down farther. Then Natalie gives me another hug to whisper again to me.

"She was looking. When you come back next week, we'll try something again." Then she releases me and walks back home.

I'm shocked to notice that the boat is docking. A deep sigh comes out of my mouth. What on earth had I just agreed to?

As the sailors on the ship anchor to the dock, two people walk up to me. I don't glance at them. I know it's Chelsea and Will.

"Well is it not a pleasant surprise to find you here Vaughn." Will smiles and I frown at his stupid British accent. "It is most wonderful that you are well."

My eyes narrow at him. "I would be better if you would crawl in a hole and die." I mutter under my breath.

He doesn't hear, but I kind of wish he did. "Well, we were just off to go dine on my ship. I do so hope you enjoy your stay in the city."

Then he takes a step forward to go to a small rowboat and mutter something so only I can hear. "Maybe we shall be fortunate enough that you shall stay there."

I don't say anything, but as he walks by I stick out my foot slightly and he trips over it. Will gathers himself coolly and lowers himself onto the small boat.

Chelsea moves to follow him, her eyes looking up at me. I see anger, sadness, and a tiny bit of something else all portrayed in her face.

Just because I'm still mad at rich boy, I mutter something at her. "Have fun with the fake prince."

She visibly flinches and for a second I think I see something in her eyes, but the sailors call for me and I leave on the boat before she can say a word.

The boat sails off and Sunshine Island soon becomes nothing more than a speck in the distance. I sigh and go over to one of the sailors, and ask to borrow his cell phone. He gives it to me, and I use it for a minute to order a new shipment of pills sent to my apartment. After a minute I give it back to him.

Then head down to the cabins and begin the long wait back to the city.

A couple hours later, we've docked in port back in the city. I thank the captain of the boat, who seems surprised by the move of kindness. Then I leave.

As I make my way through the city people bump into me everywhere. The loud sounds from the traffic and people nearly shock me. I was so used to the calm and serenity of the island. It suprises me that I miss it more than usual.

My head begins to throb dully as I finally catch a taxi and drive off to my work site. When I arrive, the sounds are quieter because the building is on the edge of the city. I thank the cab driver and pay him, and then he speeds off.

My usual stoic face finds its way back to me as I walk inside to begin my job again.

* * *

Two weeks later, I'm at home in my apartment. It was a Monday night, which meant I'd have to go back to the island tomorrow. I'd been back once already, but thankfully I hadn't run into Chelsea once. Natalie was still nice to me, but she didn't touch me. For that I was thankful.

It's about five in the afternoon; my boss let me off of work early because my headaches were becoming more frequent. I head into the kitchen and pop an Advil with a glass of warm milk. I yawn after the drink. I was still barely getting any sleep. If I thought my nightmares were bad before, it was nothing compared to this.

Every single night, nightmare that would wake me up in a cold sweat, haunted me. They were a little different every time, but were mostly the same. I would always nearly die at the end, and Chelsea was always in the dream.

The milk is done and I scowl at it as I go for something stronger. Just as I'm about to drown a shot of whiskey, the phone rings.

Surprised, I put the little glass down and pick up the phone. "Hello?"

Julia's worried voice comes on the line. "_Vaughn? I need you to do me a favor."_

She really sounded worried. "What?"

_"I need you to look for Chelsea."_

"What?"

_"Please? She left to go visit her family a little over a week ago because she got a telegram saying her mother was sick, and she said she wouldn't be gone more than three or four days. It's been more than twice that! She's been gone ever since Friday; ten days ago! I'm really worried something might have happened to her. Can you please go to her parent's house and find out if she's there?"_

I block the speaker with my hand and groan loudly. I already knew what my answer would be. No matter how much distance I kept trying to put between myself and that girl, I knew I couldn't stay away.

"What's the address?"

Julia gives me the address and then hangs up with a huge thank you. I sigh and pop another Advil before leaving my apartment.

I catch a taxi and give the driver the address I had written down. To my surprise, we eventually pull up to the biggest house I've ever seen, in the richest part of the city. As I hand the driver his money, I can't help but gasp in amazement.

The house was indeed three stories high, and I shudder to think the pain Chelsea must have gone through when she jumped off there. It was a solid white house, and it looked like an extremely elegant mansion. There were many glass windows, and inside I could see a golden spiral staircase and many expensive decorations and furniture.

The cab drives away and leaves me staring at the house. After a couple seconds, I get over my amazement. I pull my hat down and march up to the front door as best as I can while trudging through snow.

Of course there's a huge knocker for a doorbell. I slam it into the door and wait for someone to open the door.

When no one comes, I smash the knocker into the door again. After a few minutes, no one answers. Annoyed, I continuously mash the door with the knocker until it's sprung open.

A lady with icy blue eyes is glaring at me. She has a regal air about her, and her fancy clothes show it. Her nose rises in distaste at the sight of me. A wave of pity rolls over me when I realize that this woman is Chelsea's mother. She doesn't look sick to me.

"What do you want?" Her voice is filled with the disgust that her look shows. She defiantly does not sound sick.

"Is Chelsea here?" I growl at her. I didn't like this woman very much.

"I don't know anyone named Chelsea." It's obvious she thinks I'm scum. Now I'm starting to become a little worried.

"Look lady. Chelsea is a friend of mine. She's been gone from her ranch too long, and everyone on the island is worried about her." Well, that's what Julia told me. And Chelsea being Chelsea, it was probably true.

She scoffs at me. "I told you, I don't know a Chelsea."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I came in and looked, would you?" I shoot her icy glare right back at her as I brush past her into the house.

It was just as elegant as the outside would have suggested. But I don't spend much time gazing at the furniture. Quickly I speed through the house, trying to find Chelsea. There are a lot of rooms though, and I begin to lose hope as I head up to the third floor.

Suddenly I hear a mangled cry and a noise that sounds like a baseball bat breaking something. My eyes widen and I run towards the sound. The noise becomes louder as I head down the hall. A loud slap echoes in the hallway and I hear another stifled cry.

I come to the closed door that the sounds were coming from. I turn the knob, but the door was locked. I rattle the knob a few more times, but to no avail.

"Chelsea?" I yell at the door.

I hear a mumble that sounds like my name but muffled. Then I hear another loud slap. My eyes light up in anger. I had a pretty good idea what was happening.

Angrily, I kick at the door. Then I throw myself at it, to try and break it down. Time and time again, I try and break the door down, but it won't budge. Suddenly I remember that I knew how to pick locks.

I slap myself for being so idiotic. Quietly I take out my lock picker and begin to work away at the lock. As I do, I can hear a voice coming from the room.

"You think your little friend is going to rescue you, don't you? Well you hear that? He stopped banging on the door. Looks like he gave up on you missy." The voice is gruff and harsh.

"Not in this lifetime." I mutter under my breath as I hear another slap.

"How could you?" The mean voice yells again. "Why the hell would you run away? We were always nice to you, weren't we?" Another hard slap and I hear quiet sobbing as well. My fingers fumble as I pick the lock.

"We gave you everything you ever wanted, and what do we get in return? An ungrateful little brat that tries to kill herself and then runs away!" There's a movement in the room, but I don't know what it was. There's no noise but then there's a stifled high pitched scream.

Finally the lock is undone and I kick the door down, breaking it in the process. My eyes widen in horror at the sight in front of me.

Chelsea was tied up in a chair, duct tape on her mouth. There were tears flowing steadily down her face. Her entire body was bruised and cut, and her clothes were a mess. Her hair was tangled and parts of it were cut off.

There's a man standing above her. He has short brown hair like Chelsea's, and when he turns around I see that he was blue eyes, just like his wife and daughter. He had a bit of a shadow on his face, and off all things he was wearing a suit; like he was going out to supper in a minute. There's a knife in one of his hands, and the one has blood on it.

I lose it. I charge the man, who must be Chelsea's father, and tackle him to the ground. He doesn't put up much of a fight; he must be one of those guys who only fight when they're sure they can win. One punch sends him to unconsciousness.

I get off of him in disgust. I don't spare a second glance for him as I walk back over to Chelsea.

Her eyes are wide as she looks at me. My heart contracts, squeezing my emotions as I fully see the damage he'd done to her. Wordlessly, I take the tape off her mouth. Slowly, so it wouldn't hurt as much. Then I untie her from the chair and she practically falls on the floor.

I catch her in time, but it's obvious that she's fainted. I look over her again. It was obvious she need medical attention. I pick her up bridal style and then grab a suitcase that had her name on it. That must have been her bedroom.

She's extremely light and her heart flutters erratically in her chest. It makes me worried that I can carry her and the suitcase easily.

Her mother is nowhere to be seen as I rush out of the house, through the winter snow and hail another taxi.

I jump in the taxi, throw the suitcase on the floor and buckle up. Chelsea is strewn across my lap, but at the moment I don't mind.

"Hospital, step on it!" I yell at the driver who takes one look at Chelsea and then spins the tires of the car.

As we speed through the city, I look down at the girl I hold securely in my arms. There was a long cut down the side of her face that was bleeding heavily, only to be washed down the rest of her body by her tears. The other side of her face was heavily bruised with a rainbow of colours like purple, yellow, green and brown.

The rest of her body, from what I could see of it, looked exactly the same way. Cuts that had been sliced over and over again. Bruises that had been bruised repeatedly. Some cuts were beginning to scab, and that was the good news.

I gaze at her face. Her eyes were closed, but they looked peaceful. Gently, I take a hand and softly stroke the side of her face with the cut. I'm careful not to touch the actual injury, not wanting to cause her more pain. In dismay, I find that a couple patches of her head were now bald, from either being ripped out or cut off. Closely I examine her head, and I'm relieved to see that it should grow back fine. Until then, she'd want to wear a hat.

She was unconscious, that much was clear. Not once had she stirred since getting in the cab almost ten minutes ago.

Angrily I yell at the cab driver. "Can't we get here any faster?"

"We're almost there!" He yells back. "There's a stupid traffic jam…" He trails off and honks the horn.

I look back at Chelsea. She looked stable, but I wasn't a doctor couldn't trust myself with a medical decision. Suddenly she sighs leans her head contentedly into my hand.

Honestly, I don't know what possessed me. Maybe it was the way her skin felt on my hand. Or the way a slight smile was now on her face. Or maybe it was my own longing for her finally coming out.

I lean down towards her and softly press my lips to hers. It only last a second, and then I sit up. But that one second had made me feel alive again. I swear I had felt sparks going off in my body, and I just wanted to sit there and soak up the pleasure of it.

But as my luck would have it, the taxi stops. "We're here." I thank him, toss him the change and then bolt out of the car with Chelsea and her suitcase.

I run for the emergency room. People get out of my way when they see the injured girl lying in my arms. Before I know it, I'm at the front desk. "I need someone to help her!" I cry at the lady at the desk.

Quickly a team comes in and wheels her away to a room. I follow but they stop me outside of the room. One of the nurses tells me that I have to wait outside.

Reluctantly, I find a chair outside that room and sit down. And so begins the longest wait of my life…

* * *

**Ooooh! What's going to happen? Is Chelsea going to be all right? Why had her dad beat her up? What's going on with Vaughn's headache's and nightmare? Where the hell was Will and why does he seem to hate Vaughn so much? Will Sabrina try something again? To find out, all you have to do is press the little review button below and leave me a message!**


	11. Forgiveness

**Wow this chapter is really long. But you'll like it. I did it all for you, my darling readers! thank you so much for all the reviews! I've decided that I'll only post a chapter after I get at least five new reviews, when I have a chapter ready. So if we can all aim for 36 reviews, I'd love you all!**

**Side note: If you don't know what happens when a guy is turned on, 1) don't ask your parents, 2)you are older than 13 right? and 3)If you don't know, just wait. You'll figure it out eventually. ;)**

**Side note 2: Pay special attention to Vaughn's dream. It is important! Oh, and also pay attention to the part where Vaughn is talking to unconscious Chelsea. She can't hear him...right? *evil grin* ;)**

**Side note 3: I just want to thank everyone who is reviewing. I appreciate it SO much! And for all of you who just read and then don't post a comment...STOP BEING COWARDS! _I DO NOT BITE!_**

* * *

**Forgiveness**

After a few minutes of waiting impatiently in the chair, I stand up and begin to pace. My feet trace the same path in the small hallway over and over again. People pass by me and give me funny looks, but I pay them no attention.

My pace becomes automatic after a while. Without a purpose or anything to do, my mind goes completely blank in worry. Was Chelsea okay? It shouldn't be taking this long. What would I do if she wasn't okay?

Someone taps me on the shoulder. It's one of the nurses. She pulls down a surgical mask and begins to speak in a kind voice. "Are you a relative?"

"Brother." I gruffly tell her. It was a lie, but I knew from experience that anyone other than family wasn't allowed in until a couple days after an accident.

The nurse looks skeptical, but she must have seen the worry on my face so she doesn't say anything. "She'll be fine. The cuts aren't deep and the bruises will heal. There is no internal bleeding and all of her organs are fine. She's under sedative right now, but she'll be waking up within the hour."

I sigh in relief and my shoulders drop like a weight had been lifted off. The nurse smiles and turns to go away but I grab her wrist.

"Wait." I reach into my pocket and pull out the piece of paper with Chelsea's parents address. "Please contact the police and tell them to arrest the husband and wife on charges of child abuse."

The nurse's eyes widen as she glances back into Chelsea's room in understanding. She asks for a description of the two people and I give it to them. Then she rushes off.

I take a deep breath. Chelsea was going to be fine and her parents would pay for what they did. My world seems a bit brighter.

As I watch Chelsea's room, the doctors slowly leave. The last one that comes out tells me I can go inside if I want.

I nod at him in appreciate. Then I slowly push the door open and walk inside.

The lights are dimmed down and the blinds are shut tightly. The room is plain and white. Kind of reminds me of my own apartment. Then I catch sight of Chelsea on the bed.

I swallow and walk over to her. As I do, I take off my hat and place it on the bedside table. She looked a lot better than before. Although she was mostly covered up by the blankets, I could tell that she'd had all her cuts stitched. Everything else just needed time.

Gently I smile at her. Then I pull up a chair and sit next to her. Chelsea looked so peaceful, like she didn't have a care in the world. It was a much better look on her than the complete fear I had seen on her face at her home.

I glance at her hand. The knuckles were scraped but were otherwise fine. Impulsively, I take her hand in my own and stroke it with my own fingers. Then I begin to talk to her.

"You shouldn't scare me like that." I whisper. "But I'm glad that you're going to be alright."

Was it just me, or did it look like she was smiling? I smile a bit myself and continue talking to her. It was nice to actually talk to her again, without the anger. Even if she was unconscious.

"I hate hospitals." I tell her. "They remind me of death. I've been to the emergency room twice before, and both times the person I was with died. I was scared I would lose you too."

I swallow. That had been my mom and Mirabelle's husband. He had died shortly after a car crash, just after they wheeled him into the emergency room. I'd been in the car too, but I only came out with a broken arm. My mom's disease had caused her a heart attack, and she only survived long enough to give me the ring, and then she died.

I run my thumb along her knuckles. "I'm so sorry about your parents. It was horrible what they did to you. When your mother answered the door, she tried to convince me she didn't know you." I chuckles softly. "I knew though. She has your eyes."

I don't say that Chelsea has her mother's eyes. It didn't seem right. "You won't have to deal with them ever again. I promise you. I'll never let them hurt you again." I whisper this, more to myself that to her.

But she seems happy. I don't think she can hear me, but maybe her subconscious understands the meaning behind the words. Either way, I was happy.

It was almost blissful, sitting there, just stroking her hand over and over. I could pretend that we had never fought. I could forget about my ex-girlfriend, and about her current boyfriend. In this little white room, it was just me and her. Together.

"I actually miss talking to you." I whisper to her. "Natalie is an okay friend, but she doesn't seem like she can really understand me."

I sigh gently. "Will doesn't really seem like your type. I'm sorry you thought I wanted you to be with him. When I said those things, I was just trying to get away to spare you from my sickness. I'd never told anyone about it, and I guess that was my downfall."

I rub her knuckles, and then bring them to my lips. Gently I kiss her scraped knuckles then bring her hand back to the bed, still in my hand. "I've still never told anyone the full extent of my disease. When we were in the barn two seasons ago in summer, when it hit me all I could think of was escape. My head was pounding so hard, and I couldn't think at all. At the time, I didn't even hear what I was saying. All I knew was that it would get me out of there. And as soon as I left I couldn't remember anything after talking to you and Will."

I take one of my hands and run it through my hair. Even though I was telling her this while she couldn't hear me, it made me feel better. "I'm sorry I never told you about my disease. If I ever get the chance to talk to you again after this fight, I'll tell you everything about it."

Then I sigh again. "And I'm sorry I couldn't say we were together. I really don't know if I'm ready for anything official. Sabrina really hurt me, and I'm just starting to get over it. But maybe. Maybe someday."

**"Someday soon." I whisper, again more to myself that her. Impulsively I stand a bit to lean over and kiss her forehead.**

"You're beautiful you know." I whisper in her ear lovingly.

Then I sit back down, still stroking her hand with my thumb. Time ticks by and I begin dreading the moment she was going to wake up. Would she be grateful? Or would she still hate me? Surely she couldn't still hate me after that…could she?

Suddenly she moves her head and groans. I let go of her hand, not wanting her to find me doing that. My face goes neutral after I struggle with it for a second. Then her eyes flicker open.

"Where…where am I?" She mutters as she sits up and rubs her eyes. The movement makes her suck in a breath sharply.

I stand and help her lie back down. "You're in the hospital Chelsea. You're going to ache for a while but you'll be okay."

She blinks her eyes like she doesn't understand. Then her eyes go wide and her hands flies to her mouth. Tears begin to leak out of her gorgeous blue eyes. "M-my p-parents! T-they t-tricked m-me."

Chelsea then commences to burst into sobs. I sit down on her bed and hold her close in my arms. She sobs loudly into my shoulder as she chokes out words to explain.

Overall, I catch the gist of it. Apparently, a day or two after she ate dinner with Will she got a telegram saying her mother was sick, and that they wanted her at home. Chelsea had been ecstatic; her parents were finally going to accept her! So she quickly packed her bags, and left after asking Julia to watch her farm.

Apparently, when she got there her father opened the door and led her to her old bedroom. Then he wacked the back of her head and she fell unconscious. She woke up hours later, tied up in a chair and gagged with the duck tape. Every single day, her parents would come yell at her, beat her and cut her. Then they would take the tape off her mouth, push food in, put the tape back on, and then leave for supper. And it began all over again the next day.

The story makes me even angrier. I hope they have to rot in jail for the rest of their lives! But I would never let Chelsea see them again. The doctors had taken pictures of her state; that should be enough for a court to convict them. If need, they would have my testimony and that of the cab drivers, but I wouldn't ever let Chelsea near them again. So help me god.

Chelsea sniffles after she's done crying. Then she leans back and I help her lie down again. Afterwards, I get up and retrieve a cloth from the bathroom. I wet the cloth, and go back to the bed. Gently I press the cloth against her face to wipe away the tears.

I get up again and put the cloth back in the bathroom sink to sit in some water. Then I walk back and sit back down in the chair, not wanting to crowd her by sitting on the bed.

She turns her head to look at me. "You saved me. After everything mean I said to you."

I give her a small smile. "We can't stay mad forever. And I could never let anyone hurt you."

Her cheeks blush a slight rosy colour, and I'm glad that she wasn't still mad at me. "We're actually going to have to leave here soon, since you're awake and no longer need dire medical attention."

Her eyebrows crease. "I have nowhere to stay. I had no money on my person. And my suitcase is still at the house."

I shake my head and point to her suitcase on the ground. "I brought it. But you're going to stay at my apartment."

The words are out before I even think about saying them. Her eyes widen a bit and her face deepens in complexion. I suppose mine does the same too, because I can feel my face flushed with heat.

"We'll go back to the island tomorrow." I grunt at her.

"Thank you Vaughn." She smiles at me, the smile that I loved. The one that seemed to melt my heart.

At that exact moment, the same nurse enters the room and beckons to me. I rise and walk over to her. She gives me a slight smile. "The parents were still at the house and are now in custody."

I sigh in relief and give her a smile. "Thank you." And I meant it.

"But you do need to leave now." She says. "You have somewhere to go?" I nod and she nods back. Then she takes her leave.

I walk back to Chelsea. She doesn't ask what the nurse said, but I help her get up. Her clothes were in tatters, and I make a note to myself to get her into some other ones.

Her arm is around my neck and my hand is on her waist to help her walk. Then I remember her hair. Without a second thought, I take my hat off of the table and put it on her head.

She grimaces. "My hair's that bad?"

I don't answer. She would see for herself soon enough. Then I pick up her suitcase and we walk out of the room.

It's slow work, walking with her like this. But I don't mind. Actually, it sickens me to admit that I loved it. I loved being able to touch her, and have her touching me. More than once I have to push away fantasies of me making a move on her.

Finally we get to the sidewalk and I hail a taxi. We get in slowly, but the driver doesn't seem to mind. I'm surprised to note it's the same guy that took us to the hospital.

"Feeling better young lady?" The guy asks Chelsea.

She smiles and laughs once she's in the car. "Well I wouldn't say no to some painkiller, but I'm better than before."

He nods. "Well that's good." Then he turns to me. "It's a right good thing you did."

My face turns red and for a second I wish I had my hat so I could cover my face. But the driver turns around quickly and begins to drive after I give him the address of my apartment.

Chelsea sighs and leans back in the seat in exhaustion. I could quite well imagine that she was tired. Over a week of that and _anyone_ would be tired. Actually, I was feeling a little tired too. Mmhmm…weird.

After a while we reach the area of my apartment. I pay the driver and he gives me a smile as we get out.

It's dark now, being around eight in the evening by now. What an eventful three hours. I hear a noise in the distance and I check my boot to make sure my knife was still there. It was.

Chelsea wraps her arm around my neck and moves closer than she was before. I notice her eyes dart around and she was slightly sweating.

"Bad neighborhood?" She asks.

I grunt as an answer. I don't know if I could manage on actual answer. Her touch made me feel slightly weak at the knees.

I grip her around the waist as we head done the dank alley to reach my apartment. I had finally paid the lady renting it to me, so she was off my case for a while.

We both jump at every little sound. I'm jumping because she's jumping. Thankfully, I don't jump very much; just little flinches, so she doesn't notice.

Finally we reach my apartment, and I realize with a start that I had forgotten to lock the door in my haste to go find Chelsea. I hope nothing was broken or stolen.

I guide her inside and take a quick look around. Thankfully, it was still fine. It hadn't been broken into. After letting out a sigh of relief, I lock the door behind me.

I let go of Chelsea as she stands there looking at my apartment. I place her suitcase on the table and then turn around to look at her.

"You're going to have to change out of that." I tell her gruffly.

She looks down at herself and then looks at me in dismay. "They're ruined." She whines. "This was my favourite outfit!"

I can't help but chuckle. When she gives me a questioning look, I explain. "Aren't all your clothes the same?"

She smiles and laughs. "Shut up."

I couldn't help but stare at her. Her skin was still bruised and cut, but with a smile on her face, and my hat on her head she looked…well…like an angel or something.

Quickly I turn around to avoid her gaze. My hat looked really good on her actually. A whole lot better than it looked on me actually.

She comes over to me and opens the suitcase. Then she takes out some clothes that vaguely look like pajamas. It's obvious that every movement is causing her pain.

"You want some help?" I offer before I realize what exactly I was offering to help with.

She gives me a look and then my face turns a deep red that would rival a tomato. I hadn't meant it like that; it's just that I wanted her to feel as little pain as possible.

"No, I can get changed by myself." She tells me and I notice she's blushing too.

I keep my eyes on anything but her. Then I point at the bedroom. "You can sleep in the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"You don't want the bed?" She asks.

"Naw, the couch actually opens into a bed, so I'll be okay. Besides, I don't go in the bedroom anymore." I sigh and then whisper to myself. "I haven't for six years."

She pats my arm, and even if she doesn't know exactly, it's extremely comforting. Then she takes her clothes and goes into the room, closing the door behind her.

I smile slightly as I get ready for bed as well. First I call Mirabelle and Julia. They don't pick up, so I leave a message saying that Chelsea was alright and that we would be at the island tomorrow.

After that, I undress and throw everything but my boxers into the laundry. Those I was wearing to bed, like I did every night. Finally I drink a warm glass of milk and then fall asleep on the couch.

* * *

_I blink my eyes in the harsh sunlight. Icy cold water laps onto my bare feet. Sand warm from the sun's rays oozes between my toes and I realize I'm on the beach._

_Then someone jumps on my back, and I turn my head slightly to see brown hair flowing over my shoulder and happy blue eyes looking up into mine. Chelsea laughs and hugs me around my neck._

_I laugh along with her. She climbs off my back and I see that she's adorned with a stunning blue bikini that really brought out the colour of her eyes. A glance down at myself shows that I'm in black swim trunks._

_I look back at Chelsea and she's teasing me with my hat. With a grin on my face, I chase after her as we run around the beach. Sand flies into my eyes from her steps, but I don't care._

_Finally I catch her by wrapping my arms around her stomach. She laughs and breaths hard from the sprint. Then she turns in my arms, which catches me off guard and we fall to the sandy beach._

_I land on top of her, but neither of us minds. My head tilts down and kisses her quickly on the lips, and then I jump up with my hat in my hand._

_She cries foul play and runs after me. I'm laughing as she tries unsuccessfully to catch me. Finally she gives up and sits down on the sand, with a pout on her face._

_I smile and walk over to her, my hat now on my head. Gently I wrap my hands around her. She felt smooth and so alive. It made me tingle all over. _

_Out of nowhere she reaches up, grabs my hat and then sprints away, crying victory. I chase her to the bridge, prepared to knock her into the water and kiss her there._

_She gives me a sly smile. Abruptly, the sky darkens. _

_Oh no. Not now! Please not again! I feel my conscious self scream at my dream self. My dream self can't hear though._

_Rain begins pouring down like there's no tomorrow. Winds pick up faster than a twister and the ocean thrashes around with a mind of its own._

_Chelsea gives me one look of absolute horror before a sudden swell comes up and claims her. She was gone; like she'd never even been there._

_A strange animal like sound comes from the back of my throat. Without any regard for my own safety, I dive into the ocean and plunge into its depths to retrieve my stolen treasure._

_I can't see anything in the dark water. Everything is darker than the night sky as I dive deep and deeper. My lungs burn as I attempt to hold in as much air as possible._

_Then I catch sight of her. Chelsea. She was unconscious and falling deeper. Desperately, I swim as fast as I can for her._

_But no matter how fast I swim I can't catch her. A cry burns my throat and small whimpers come out of my mouth. My hands clench and unclench, even though I know it does no good. I try swimming one way, and then another, but to no avail._

_My lungs are burning as I cry out over and over. I could feel myself sweating even though I was underwater. Suddenly the scene begins to faze between this one and another._

_In one scene I'm still swimming as fast as I can for Chelsea. In the other, I'm lying on my couch in my apartment. In the second scene, my face is contorted in pain. I'm drenched in a cold sweat, and my eyes are closed tightly. My fists clutch at the blanket and my legs are all twisted around in it. A quiet whimper is continuously coming from my mouth, and every so often a louder cry would burst out._

_A small part of the back of my mind wonders at this. So that was how I looked when I was having a nightmare. It's a good thing Denny only caught the end of one of the better ones; it was scary to watch._

_Abruptly, that scene vanishes. I'm plunged back into the ocean, but now Chelsea is closer than before. I reach out a hand and grasp hers._

_With barely any air left, I kick my way to the surface; dragging Chelsea along for the ride. After what seems like an eternity, we break the surface. _

_She begins gasping for air, like I am, the minute the cold air hits her. The storm is now gone, and in its place is a calm serenity. I grab her and swim back to the dock._

_We clamber up on the dock while we both choke up water. As soon as we can both breathe, we just sit there and look at each other._

_Then she moves a little closer to me, and reaches out a hand to stroke my face. "Thank you. Again."_

_Again? What did she mean again? Dream Chelsea should only know about this scene! My conscious mind yells at me. It's silenced a moment later._

_Chelsea leans over and kisses me tenderly on the lips. It was sweet, so like her. A shiver goes through my body. She was making me want to do more than just kiss her._

_But my conscious keeps bugging me. Why does that feel different? When you kissed her in the dream earlier, it wasn't like this at all!_

_I push the thought away. I was enjoying this too much. Then she breaks off and wraps her arms around me. I wrap mine around her contently, and sigh into her waterfall scented hair._

_The scene fades around me, so that I fall into a blissful, dream-free sleep._

When I wake up, I smile lightly to myself. That had been an amazing dream; after the scary part where I almost lost Chelsea anyway. I sigh in happiness and wrap my arm tighter around the person beside me.

What? Person beside me? What the hell…?

I keep my breathing normal, and pretend that I'm still asleep. Cautiously I open one of my eyes, just a slit, and I nearly jolt off the couch in surprise. Fortunately, I don't move a muscle.

In my arms, with her wrapped tightly around me, was Chelsea. Her head rested against my chest, and my chin rested on the top of her head. She was adorned in a flimsy pajama outfit that seemed to be made of silk, like my boxers. But the outfit was slightly lacey, and looked like something you would find at Victoria Secret.

My face was surely the colour of a tomato by now. Then she takes a deep breath in, and I'm notified that her chest was pressed tight against mine. Now all the tomatoes were jealous of my colour.

It takes all my concentration, which is not much at this point, just to stop hyperventilating. It wasn't that I hated it, completely the opposite. She felt so good next to me. I was completely caught in her scent and the way she felt against me. It was like having a slice of heaven here in my arms; only better.

She moves slightly, and I'm horrified to notice that I'm turned on. I hadn't been turned on by a girl in years! Okay, now I was officially freaking out. Hopefully I could get her off of me, without her noticing.

Chelsea moves slightly again, and I realize that she's been awake for a while now. I grunt at her. "Do you always crawl into other people's beds?"

She shakes her head against my chest. "No, it's just that-" Chelsea stops in the middle of her sentence and stares at me with wide eyes. I grimace as she shoots off the couch like a rocket launcher into a chair on the other side of the room. I guess she noticed I was turned on.

"Just what?" I growl at her, trying to pretend that I hadn't been so turned on by her.

She swallows and averts her eyes from me. "I couldn't sleep. I got up to get a glass of warm milk to make me a little sleepier. But when I went in the kitchen I heard a noise."

My face goes deadly pale. Please tell me she didn't see me while I was having a nightmare. "What noise?" I growl, but my voice had fear in it.

"It was coming from in here." She motions to the living room we're in. "From the couch. You were making this whimpering noise and every so often you would cry out in pain. You were sweating like crazy and were thrashing around, clutching at the blankets."

My face would have rivaled a ghost. I look away from her as I get up off the couch and head to the kitchen. Chelsea follows me after a minute.

She sits down on a stool as I do anything to busy my hands. Prepare coffee, make breakfast, wash my hands; anything that will hide my shaking.

"You were having a nightmare, weren't you?" She whispers. I nod curtly as I pop my normal pills, and adding a couple Advil with it.

She whispers again, this time her voice softer. "You did calm down when I came over though."

I think back to my dream. When the scene of myself on the bed had faded, I had rescued Chelsea from the water. Had my conscious mind been trying to tell me Chelsea was beside me?

Chelsea's speaking again. "I was scared you might start freaking again if I left."

I sigh and whisper. "I probably would have."

She gives a look that appeared to be full of longing. "Do you dream often?"

"Every night." Unfortunately. And you're the star every time, because I can't get you off my damn mind! How's that for creeper status?

"Why?" She asks.

I take a deep breath, as I our two cups of coffee. "It's part of my disease. The part that isn't curable with the pills. I've had nightmares every single night of my life ever since my mom died." Which is also when I started to hate life.

'I'm sorry Vaughn." Chelsea says to me, her voice kind.

I grunt. I was so confused. Why was she so happy around me? She WAS still dating Will, as much as I hate to admit it. "Next time, leave me alone okay? You don't have to deal with that."

"I don't think I could." Her words are barely above a whisper. "You looked awful…like you were about to lose the most important thing in your life. And you looked scared. I couldn't leave you like that."

I nod and hand her one of the cups of coffee. When I turn to look at her though, my eyes can't leave her. A couple of her bruises are beginning to disappear, and the cuts would take a little longer to heal. But that outfit she was wearing…it was just so different from her normal clothing, I would never have expected Chelsea would go to sleep in something so girly. The short silk shorts hugged her waist, and the silk top clung to her body delicately and slightly showed her-

What was I doing? I was most certainly NOT just checking her out, no siree. But I glance back at her to find her checking me out too. Suddenly I feel way too exposed in just my boxers; funny, I hadn't felt this way when just about the entire town saw. Just when Chelsea was checking me out in them.

I meet her eyes and we both turn at the same time. She begins stammering. "I-I b-b-better go get d-dressed n-now." Quickly she flees the kitchen and my bedroom door slams shut.

I grimace and hit my head against the wall. It hurts for a second and makes a loud noise, but Chelsea doesn't come out. I plop myself down on the other stool.

I put my head in my hands and just sit there for a couple minutes. Then I look up and glance at my reflection in the kitchen mirror.

"What am I getting myself into?"

* * *

**Just as a note, I got the ending idea from a story called Love and Hate by Compgirl21. I apoligize to Compgirl21 for taking a little of this scene and I apoligize if the words are slightly the same. I declare to all that you are the brain behind the dear exchange between Chelsea and Vaughn at the end. Please contact me if you have issues. I will bake you cookies if you require. :)**

**Btw, is anyone noticing how much Advil Vaughn is taking? Is something else wrong with him? Review to find out!**


	12. Conflicted

**I want to thank you all SO much for all your reviews! I really love it all! Okay, I just want to say that I know Will is a little OOC in this story, but he needs to be. Just cause I say so. :P**

**Alright, I've heard all my readers begging be to get rid of Will. Be patient. It's coming soon. **

**Please review! I will try and post one more chapter today, because I leave to drive to another place tomorrow. I'm not sure when I'll have access to another computer. But I will post at least one more chapter today. REVIEWS!**

* * *

**Conflicted**

After I drown my coffee, I quickly change into my usual outfit before Chelsea comes out of the bedroom. I'm just finishing putting on my boots when she does walk in.

I glance at her to find that she's wearing her usual ranching clothes with another red bandanna wrapped around her head. From what I could see, it hid most of the bald spots of hair. Although I have to admit I did feel a little less dizzy than when she was wearing those pajamas.

She walks up to me and hands me my hat. Her old bandana is still tied around it and I smile as I take it from her and place it snugly on my head.

"We have to go. The boat leaves soon." I tell her gruffly. She nods to me and picks up her suitcase. Neither of us says a word about the scene that had happened earlier.

Half an hour later, we're on the boat for Sunshine Islands. I'm standing on the dock, letting the sea wind blow in my face. Briefly I'm reminded of the first time I took this boat to Sunshine Islands. That had been an interesting day.

Chelsea was below deck right now, and I wondered about her. Was she really okay? What would she tell the people of the island about her absence? I was worried if she would be strong enough to work on her farm so soon after her ordeal.

My mind wanders back to what had occurred in my apartment. Only god knows how much I wish that she had never had to leave my arms. Just from my unconscious reaction to her touch showed how much I had grown attached to her. For the first time in a long time, I didn't wake up drenched in sweat or screaming from a nightmare. To think that she could do that to me…

And it scared me. I wasn't used to feeling this much affection for one person. It scared me because I knew I was only falling deeper and deeper in love with Chelsea.

I sigh and bang my head against the railing. Who was I kidding? A girl like her would never in a million years fall in love with a guy like me. I was cold and even though I had been a little less mean lately, I was too much of a shattered mess for anyone to piece together.

Besides, she was with another guy. However much I hated to admit it. It sickened me to think that anyone else beside me would get to hold her the way I had last night. Even if it had just been an accident.

And when I had kissed her briefly in the taxi cab on the way to the hospital. It wouldn't stop running through my head, and I knew I was longing to kiss her again. Every fiber of my being burned with hatred when I thought about Will being able to kiss her any time he wanted.

Some one comes from behind and stands beside me. The familiar brown hair and blue eyes are a daily and nightly torment for me. How I wish I could just sweep her up in my arms, and have her forever. But, I couldn't do something like that.

"How do I look?" She asks me as she turns to me.

I'm shocked. It looks like she'd never been to the hospital, never been beaten by her parents, or missed so much sleep. She must have seen the surprise on my face because she laughs.

"It's just makeup." She explains. "I'll use it to cover everything up until they do go away."

I nod and turn back to look at the sea. Sunshine Island was starting to come into view as we slowly inch our way through the water.

"Vaughn." Chelsea whispers. "I want to thank you, for saving my life."

I grunt. "You already did."

Then she stands up and kisses me softly on the cheek. My entire body froze as her soft lips brushed my grizzled face and lingered there for a second.

She turns back to looking at the island and I pull my hat down over my eyes. "You're welcome." I tell her gruffly.

Chelsea begins to speak softly. "Where you…were you talking to me? While I was under the sedative?"

My eyes widen and I pull my hat closer over my head. "You heard that?"

She nods and whispers. "Every word."

Ho-ly Crap. Uh…where are the awkward police when you need them?

"Did you mean it?" She asks me as she turns to face me.

"All of it." I whisper back. I turn my face to hers. "You'll never have to see your parents again." I knew that wasn't the part she cared about, but I was freaking out.

Instead of being disappointed like I had guessed. She smiles. "I can read between the lines Vaughn."

Shoot. Caught in a white lie. Oh well. I guess it would be okay. Suddenly she looks serious. "But just so I'm straight, Natalie is just a friend, right?"

I chuckle. "Yes, Natalie is just a friend."

She sighs in relief. "Okay then. You ready?"

For? It's then that I notice we've docked. Ugh, I became so absorbed in Chelsea I couldn't even pay attention to my surroundings. No wonder Denny had managed to see me almost kiss her.

I nod and we get off the boat. I take her luggage from her the second we hit the dock. She looked like she could barely carry a toothpick with the way she was huffing and puffing from carrying it.

As soon as we're on the beach, four girls practically tackled Chelsea. I could see her wince in pain and I step in to roughly push Julia, Natalie, Lanna and Sabrina off of her.

My eyes narrow at Sabrina. She looks me head on and her eyes seem to be begging me but I just look away and ignore her.

"Where were you?" Julia practically screams as she squeezes Chelsea's shoulders and wraps her arms around her in another hug.

I push her off. "Give her some room to breathe." I growl at them.

Lanna looks at me with a smile on her face. "Oooh, looks like our little Vaughny is getting a little over protective."

I glare at her. "Don't call me that." My voice must have sounded pretty threatening, because she backs off. Fortunatly, Lanna was the only one who called me that.

"So where were you?" Julia asks her again.

Chelsea looks like she's at a loss for words. She obviously hadn't thought about what she'd tell them. Quickly I blurt something out. "She got the flu. Couldn't call or write anyone, and her parents doesn't know all your numbers. She was feeling better when I got there."

She shoots me a grateful look and I nod. Julia frowns. "The flu? That sucks. I'm sorry we worried so much Chelsea."

Chelsea smiles. "It's okay. I would do the same if it was any of you. And besides, the welcoming makes up for it."

She motions for everyone to hug her, and I'm the only one who can see the pain on her face as she does so. I was actually quite impressed. She was acting as if everything was normal; she normally got lots of hugs from the girls of the island, so she couldn't just stop.

They all begin chatting aimlessly and I begin to feel awkward just standing there. Natalie walks up to me though and smiles.

"Hey Vaughn." She smiles. "How are you?"

I grunt as an answer. She shrugs and then smiles again. "Oh my gosh, there's a new resident on the island and he's a chef! His name is Pierre and he is just about the cutest guy I have ever seen! He's so smart and his food tastes amazing!"

Natalie's eyes are shining, and I can tell that she really likes him. "Why don't you ask him out?"

Her eyes widen. "You think? Maybe for the Starry Night Festival. It's in a week and a half."

The Starry Night Festival, eh? "Good idea." I knew who I wanted to spend that with…my eyes roam over at Chelsea.

Natalie pats my arm. "It'll work out. I know it."

I nod at her, when Chelsea suddenly pushes everyone away from her. "Alright girls! I do have a ranch I need to reacquaint myself with!"

They all laugh, and Chelsea beckons to me. After pulling my hat a little closer of my eyes I follow her as we walk to her ranch.

It looks so much different in the winter snow. The entire field was pure white, and the buildings were covered with snow too.

We walk into her house first. It's the first time I've been inside and I note that it's extremely homely. The kitchen looked well used, as did the furniture. There were pictures everywhere. Pictures of all her animals and of every single villager on the island. My eyes roam over all the pictures until they find one with a silver haired boy lying unconscious on a bed.

Her suitcase is still gripped in my hand. She comes over to take it from me, but then she sees what I'm looking at.

"It's the only time I could ever get your picture." She whispers.

I turn to her and grab her wrist. I don't keep a hard hold on it though, because I know there's a huge bruise there. "You visited me?"

She nods slowly. "Every day."

My eyes widen. "But no one ever saw you come in."

She smiles slightly. "You know, you guys leave the back door open."

My mouth gapes open and she blushes. "I'd just sneak in after Mirabelle and Julia went to bed."

By now, we're both blushing like crazy. I turn away from her lovely blue eyes and place her suitcase on the table.

She puts her hand on my shoulder. "Vaughn,"

"I have to go." I say gruffly and I flee the house.

Just as I leave, a huge clatter comes from the house; followed by a stream of curses from Chelsea's mouth. My eyes widen and without a second thought, I run back in the house.

I open the door and find Chelsea sitting on a chair, holding her foot. Her suitcase was now on the floor.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it…" Chelsea repeats the words over and over as she clutches her foot.

"What did you do?" I ask, my voice shocked.

She glances up at me and grimaces. "I was trying to stop you from leaving, and I bumped into the table. The suitcase fells and smashed my foot." She grimaces again and then manages a sick smile. "But it worked."

I sigh. "You're accident prone."

Chelsea shrugs. "Take it or leave it."

I don't comment on that. Mostly cause I wasn't sure if she meant something else by that. Instead I bend down and take off her shoe, followed by her sock.

Her foot was slightly swollen and very red. Thankfully it wasn't broken. "Stay there." I tell her sternly as I get up.

I walk to her freezer and pull out a bag of corn she'd frozen. After removing it, I close the freezer and walk back to her. Then I put the bag on her foot and she lets out a small yelp.

"Keep that on there for twenty minutes and the swelling should go down." I tell her. While I may not be a doctor, I could deal with small injuries.

She smiles at me. "Thanks."

I nod and get up to leave. She calls out my name. "Vaughn? Where are you going?"

I turn when I reached her door. "You're in no condition to be walking around. I'm going to feed your animals for you."

Then I turn around and leave, but not before catching a grateful look from her. It makes me smile.

Taking care of her animals calms me down. First I go to the chicken house and see that she had two new chickens. I look at the roster on the side of the barn and see that Amour and Yellow were still there, along with their chicks V and Kernel. My face deeps in colour when I realize that the V is my initial; she named the chicken after me.

I put food in the feeders and then pet all the chickens. They all seem to like me a lot, especially Amour and V. After a while, I leave and head to her barn.

There I see that she now has two cows and one sheep. After checking the roster I see that Amethyst is still there along with Sapphire and the sheep Snow. I shrug. A name is a name.

I set fodder in all of their feeders and then brush them all to a fine shine as I talk to them. They enjoy the talking and I tell them how wonderful their owner is. They seem to love it.

After putting the brush away, I leave the barn and begin to trudge my way through the snow back to her house. As I'm walking I see a set of footprints leading to Chelsea's house. And they weren't mine.

My eyes narrowed and my face neutral, I open the door of her house. Only to find Will kissing Chelsea like there's no tomorrow.

My eyes light up in anger. I slam the door behind me and Will practically jumps off of her. Which a pretty amazing feat even for him, seeing as though he had been straddling her.

"Get. Out." Each word is pronounced and enforced with deadly seriousness. My words seems dark even to me, and I knew that I would not hesitate to break every bone in his body if he didn't leave that instate.

Will appears scared for a second, but then he glances at Chelsea and his bravado seems to come back. "Why should I?"

I take a step closer to him. "Because if you don't, I will break every single bone in your body. Painfully. And Slowly."

"You are not her father." Will stands up tall to me.

"No," I admit. "But I am the guy with a knife in his boots."

Will's eyes widen. "You are bluffing."

Without taking my eyes off him, I reach down into my boot and pull out my switchblade. Then I open it and look at it. "And I have deadly aim when throwing this."

Finally Will seems to get the message. He flashes a smile at Chelsea. "I shall see you tomorrow night to dine on my ship, my lady."

He then bows to her, flips me off without her notice, and leaves the house.

I close the knife and put it back in my boot. Then I clench my hands; I was still wound up with anger, even though Will had left.

"Vaughn." Chelsea begins as she stands up. I notice that her foot is looking better. It must have taken me longer than I'd thought to take care of her animals.

I hold my hand up. "I don't want to hear it Chelsea." Then I head into the kitchen and begin making her some food more lunch.

She follows me and sits down on a stool. "Vaughn, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Mean to what? Kiss him? It sure looked like you meant it." I slam the fridge door closed after I take out a bunch of vegetables. Not carrots though; I hated carrots.

I take out a knife from in the drawers and begin to cut up the veggies. Chelsea continues. "Please Vaughn. He just came in here and was so happy to see me. He got a little carried away."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask through clenched teeth. "I don't care. Why should I care? He's your boyfriend; you have a right to kiss him." I say everything through clenched teeth, as I chop the veggies much harder than they need to be chopped.

"I wasn't kissing him back." She whispers. "And I'm not strong enough to push him off."

I chop the veggies one last time and then place my hands on the edge of the counter. I count to ten as I take deep breaths through my mouth.

Then I'm calmer. I take all the cut up veggies and place them in the frying pan. I work over it for a minute before Chelsea speaks up again.

"Please, Vaughn."

I turn to her and walk so that I'm right in front of her, with only the counter separating us. "Look Chelsea. I'll always be your…friend…" I nearly choke on the word friend. "Even if you're not there to see. I don't want to talk about Will when we're together."

Then I turn around again and walk back to the veggies. They're done, so I scrap them off onto a plate and grab two forks.

I head back over to Chelsea, who's looking at me with a strange look in her eyes. I'm not sure what it is exactly, so I just put the plate in front of her and hand her a fork.

She takes the fork. "Stir-fry?"

"I think so." I say. Honestly, I'd just chopped veggies to let out my anger but I think it was a real dish too. "I can cook."

Chelsea smiles and takes a bite of it. She chews it slowly and I watch, waiting for reaction. "It's good." She mumbles between bites.

I smile a bit at her and then take a bit of the dish. It actually wasn't that bad. We finish the meal together in silence.


	13. Rescue

**As promised, the next chapter! FWI, Stark is my FAV. name from House of Night, so no flames! (read and you'll understand). And I would like to thank everyone for reviewing, I really appreciate it a lot. Keep it Up! And I'll have the next chapter up before you know it!**

* * *

**Rescue**

I'm walking back to Chelsea's the next day. She would still need help because of her injury, so I would help her while I was here. After…well, she would have to manage on her own.

I'm shaking as I walk though. I'd had the same nightmare that I'd had the night before. Where Chelsea and I were playing on the beach, when suddenly she fell in and started to drown. Only this time, I didn't save her.

It was really freaking me out. The only difference between the two times was that Chelsea had been there when the good ending for the dream had occurred. What was she doing to me?

I draw in a shaky breath as I pop my regular pills and another Advil. I'd taken to just carrying them around. I'd also learned to swallow pills without water.

It's early when I reach her farm. Quickly I go through all her chores. I feed her chickens, cows and sheep, and brush all of them so they shine. I cuddle a few that seem a bit lonely, and then I head to her house.

It's almost nine o'clock. Gently I knock on her door. There's a grunt from the other side. My eyebrows crease. What was going on? Cautiously I enter the house.

No one's in the main room. Curious, I check the kitchen. Again, no one. Then I check the bathroom, and find no one. I take a deep breath as I go to the one room of the house I hadn't been in. Her bedroom.

Very cautiously, I knock on the door. There's a groan from the other side of the door.

"Chelsea?" I call.

"Vaughn?" A hoarse voice calls out. "What are you doing here?"

"I took care of your animals. I didn't know if you'd be well enough to."

"Thanks."

I wait for another noise or sound, but she doesn't make any again. Worried, I knock on the door again. "Can I come in?"

"Knock yourself out."

I inch the door open, my eyes almost half-shut; just in case. But to my relief, Chelsea is snuggled deep under her blankets. Although I become worried a second later. What was she doing still sleeping? Didn't farmers get up earlier than this?

"You okay?" I ask as I stand next to her.

She turns her head, lets out a deep sigh and opens her eyes to look at me. "Better now."

My heart just skipped a beat. I swallow. "Are you still wearing that makeup?"

"Yeah. Does it still look okay?" She asks worriedly.

I nod. "You look great." I give her a slight smile. "Come on. Get out of bed and I'll make you breakfast."

She yawns and stretches. "But it's so warm in bed."

I push away the sick thoughts my fantasies came up with from that statement. "I'll make pancakes."

She makes a moaning sound and she buries her head beneath the blanket. "Can you bring it in here?" She mumbles.

"Nope. You gotta get up." I tell her, a smile tugging on my lips.

"Fine." She sighs out. Then she throws her blanket off and runs to the bathroom.

I stand there for a minute, the image of her lacey pajamas adorning her stuck in my head. Then I smile and head back to the kitchen to make pancakes.

A good ten minutes later, Chelsea walks into the kitchen just as I finish making the pancakes. She smiles at me as I hand her a plate of two pancakes, strawberries, blueberries, whip cream and syrup.

She laughs. "Is this breakfast or desert?"

I chuckle as I sit down next to her at the table with my own equally looking plate. "A little of both."

She laughs again and takes a bite of the pancakes. Her eyes close as she savors the flavor, bliss forming on her face.

"You are an amazing cook." Is what she says when her eyes open.

"I'm no Pierre." I point out, referring to the chef on the island. "But I'm not bad."

"Are you kidding me? This is great!" She stuffs another forkful into her mouth.

"I'm sure you're better." I say with a shrug as I begin to eat.

Chelsea laughs. "Are you kidding me? I burn toast! With actual flames! Why do think I'm always eating at other people's houses?"

I shrug and continue eating, watching her the entire time. She genuinely seemed to love the pancakes as she ate them quickly. I push mine over to her. I'd already eaten breakfast anyway.

When she's done we both sit back. She smiles. "You know, Will never cooks. He just has his butlers do it all."

I sneer and growl as I pick up the dishes. I walk over to the sink and drop them in. After I take off my fingerless gloves, I wash them both and then put them away. My gloves are back on when I go back to where Chelsea was.

She smiles at me as I sit down. "So what now?"

I shrug. Chelsea bites her bottom lip, and I have to silently scold myself for staring. "You want to go for a walk?"

I scoff. "Don't you have to prepare for your date?"

Surprisingly, Chelsea laughs. "It's not going to be much of a date."

What did that mean? "We can go for a walk, I guess."

"Great!" She jumps up faster than I could follow. "Let's go!"

She grabs my arm and drags me out of the house. "Where do you want to go?" Chelsea asks me as we trudge through the snow. It was a little less than normal, which was good I guess.

"Forest?" I offer.

"Okay." She smiles and we begin to walk that way. No one sees us as we cross over the bridge to the forest.

Chelsea lets go of my arm when we enter the forest. I desperately wish I could take her hand, but I don't want to come on too strong.

We walk side by side. First we come to a little tiny pond. Chelsea walks up to it and gets down on her knees. She beckons to me and I sit down next to her.

"They say that this is where the Harvest Goddess resides." Chelsea whispers to me. "She might appear if you throw in an offering."

"They?" I ask as I cock an eyebrow. Chelsea points and for the first time I notice that there's a church there.

"Oh. Them." I say simply. Nathan and Alisa were the two people who run the church. That must have been who Chelsea was talking about.

I turn back to gaze at the pond. The Harvest Goddess, eh? Silently, I send her a small prayer of thanks. I could have patience, if Chelsea was here beside me.

Then she stands. I stand with her and we begin to walk aimlessly around the forest. We don't speak at all; there's no need to.

Suddenly, I hear a howl. My eyes widen and for a minute I'm reminded of the dream where I was eaten by wolves. Chelsea jump and grabs onto my arm. I pull down my hat as I put on my game face.

There's a rustling of leaves just a little distance from where we were standing. "Vaughn…" Chelsea whispers.

I put my hand over her mouth to silence her. Her lips are warm and moist against my hand and I completely faze out for a second. Only when the leaves rustle again, do I remember.

Abruptly some dogs come out of the woods. There are five altogether and they're all Siberian Huskies. And they're all adults except for one pup.

The one who appears to be the pack leader approaches me. Carefully, I bend down. He sniffs at me, and I suddenly remember that I had put leftover food in my jacket.

Slowly, I reach into my pocket and pull out some of the food. I open my palm so it's flat and then the leader dog leans over and eats the food.

His tongue tickles my palm, and I smile a bit as I take out the rest of the food. Then I throw it to the rest of the dogs and they eat hungrily.

After they're fed, they all run up to me and begin licking my face. I let out a laugh as they knock me over. They're all on top of my licking my face, and I pet each one of them in turn.

Then I catch sight of Chelsea. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was really scared. I'm worried about her, so I push the dogs off gently and walk over to her. The dogs follow loyally at my heels.

Though as I approach her, she back away. I'm really confused. "Chelsea, what's wrong?"

Her face is pure white. "I'm, I'm, I'm, sc-sc-scared of d-d-d-dogs."

I give her a small smile. "The dogs aren't going to hurt you. They're not dangerous and they won't attack. They just wanted food."

Chelsea still appears nervous still. "I d-d-don't kn-kn-know."

Even though I thought her stuttering was cute, she was beginning to bug me. Animals were something I loved no matter what. It kind of annoyed me that she could be scared by something so innocent and sweet.

"Come on." I tell her. "Just pet one."

Her eyes widen in fear as she slowly kneels down. Then the smallest dog, the one that's still a puppy, run over to her and licks her face. She freezes for a second and then she smiles as the dog's tongue licks her nose.

She ruffles his fur, and laughs when he lets out a small bark. I smile slightly. She looked really cute holding the small dog in her arms.

All the other dogs begin barking at me, so I get down on my knees and begin to play with them. While Chelsea still seems a bit nervous around the bigger dogs, she comes over beside me and we play with the dogs together.

I don't know how much time passes. I'm caught up in the soft fur of the dogs, their constant barking, and their need for attention and of course, Chelsea.

Time goes by quickly and before I know it, we've spent almost half the day with the dogs. The leader dog finally decides that it's time to leave and gathers his pack. They begin to walk away and Chelsea and I watch them.

Abruptly, the puppy whines at the leader. He turns and barks at the smaller puppy who barks back. For the rest of my life I would swear I saw the Alpha dog sigh and nod its head in our direction after licking the puppy behind the ears.

Chelsea and I watch in amazement as the puppy bounds happily over to us and jumps into Chelsea's arms. The rest of the pack vanishes into the bushes.

The puppy is licking her face happily, and Chelsea is giggling as she shoots me looks of disbelief. I have to laugh at the funny picture they make together.

"I guess you have a dog now." I'm smiling as I tell her. I liked the puppy a lot. His face was snow white, as was his stomach and the tip of his tail, but everything else was night black. He was a very cute puppy.

"What do you think I should name him?" Chelsea asks me as she snuggles the puppy in her arms. She'd become quite the dog lover over the past couple hours.

I shrug. She looks at the dog. "Maybe James." Then she glances at me. "It's my favourite name."

I frown. "Don't use your favourite."

She frowns back. "Why not?"

I pull my hat closer over my eyes. "You might want to use it for something better." Like if she ever got a child, for example…

Chelsea looks confused for a second, but then she catches on and her eyes widen as her face becomes even redder than mine.

"Stark then." She smiles at the little puppy. "Your name is Stark."

It was a good name. "We should get back now." I tell her gruffly.

She nods and we walk back to her house in silence; her holding the puppy in her arms the entire way.

* * *

Only a few hours later I was sitting on the dock. My boat wouldn't come for at least another three hours, but…I was drawn here.

Okay, I'm…spying. On Chelsea's date with Will. Yeah, I know. Stalker status, but I had a bad feeling deep in my gut. Maybe it was the dream I had.

A pair of footsteps echoes on the dock. I don't turn to look. I'm too busy watching in hatred as Will is having dinner on the deck of his ship with Chelsea.

The person sits down beside me. It's Natalie. She sighs. "Don't you ever get tired of watching them from a distance?"

I shrug. "Sometimes."

"But you can't stop, can you?" She gives me a light smile. "I thought you might like some company out here. It is a little chilly."

I shrug. "Whatever." I wasn't trying to be rude; I was bust watching for signs of something to go wrong.

"I talked to Pierre today." She admits. "He invited me to have supper with him tomorrow."

I nod. "Good for you Natalie."

She smiles and blushes. "I know I've only known him for a while, but I really like him."

I raise my eyes brows at her. "Bad ass routine not doing it for you anymore?"

She gently shoves me. "Shut up."

The comment reminds me of when Chelsea said that to me only yesterday. Was it only yesterday? It seemed so much longer.

"So what really happened with Chelsea?" Natalie asks suddenly. "I don't buy that she had the flu. It's not even flu season. That was _last_ month."

I shrug. "You want to know; ask her. But I wouldn't if I was you."

"Why not?" She seems curious.

"It's private and she doesn't want anyone's pity." I shrug again.

"Vaughn." Natalie pulls my arm and I turn to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm. Sitting. On. The. Dock?" Each word is its own sentence as I wonder if she was trying to play a mind game with me.

She shakes her head. "No, why are you here? Why aren't you over there-" Her hand points to Will's ship. "Telling Chelsea that you love her?"

"It's more complicated than that." I say gruffly.

"It's not hard to say 'I love you'. Besides, I know for a fact that she'd dump Will in a heartbeat if you told her that."

"You don't understand." I say gruffly.

"No Vaughn. You don't understand." Now Natalie's voice is harsh. "There's a girl over there who loves you and you're not admitting it because what? Because you're afraid you might actually feel something?"

That strikes me deep. My eyes flash angrily at her, and I see that she cowers slightly. "Yes Natalie. I'm afraid to get my heart broken. Do you know what it feels like to get your heart broken?" My voice is steadily rising as I yell at her. "Have you ever experienced nights where all you dream about is the one person who broke your heart? Have you ever cried yourself to sleep for _years_ because the pain is still burning? Have you ever wanted to _kill yourself_ because there's a possibility you won't have to feel anymore?"

I know my eyes are burning and I feel a lone tear make its way down my face. Quickly I turn back around and pull my hat so far over my eyes all I can see are my pants.

"No. I haven't." Natalie answers in a shaken voice.

I grunt. "Well when someone who you think you're going to spend your entire life with breaks _your_ heart and you go through all that; then you come and tell me that it's easy to say those words to another person."

Natalie doesn't say anything to that. Then she gasps. My head snaps up and I look up at Will's boat. What I see makes me want to jump in a hole and die.

Chelsea and Will were by the edge of the ship. I couldn't see Chelsea's face but I could see Will's. It had begging and fake love written all over it. Her was done on one knee and was holding a blue feather out to Chelsea.

"He's proposing to her." Natalie whispers. Like I didn't already know.

I want to look away, but I just can't. Chelsea was saying something to him; she still hadn't taken the feather from his hands. He begins to look angry and I really wish I could hear what was being said.

Then, she does take the feather. My heart constricts for a minute but then she drops it on the deck and destroys it with her foot.

Will looked pissed. Royally pissed. He reaches for Chelsea and she backs against the railing. Then she does something that I will never forget for the rest of my life, as long as I live.

Chelsea kicks him in the crotch. And from the look of pain on his face, she hit him _hard._ However, the force of the kick causes her to fall backwards; into the water.

There's a huge splash and then a bunch of flailing coming from the spot she fell. That's when it hits me.

"She can't swim." I whisper to myself. Before I know it, my boots and hat are tossed and I'm in the water.

I swim as fast as I can possibly go. I make myself go on even when my lungs feel like their bursting for air. But when I reach the site she fell in, there's no sign of her.

My eyes widen in horror and I take another deep breath before plunging back into the water. The water is icy cold and I'm already starting to lose the feeling in my limbs. It's also pitch black and I can't see a thing. Terror grips me as I realize that this was exactly like my dream.

I push myself harder than I did in the dream. My lungs scream for air as a little thought goes though the back of my mind, _that I can die here._ But I have to find Chelsea.

Suddenly, I see her. I thank the Harvest Goddess with every fiber of my being as I grab an unconscious Chelsea and kick my way to the surface.

The second we break the water, her eyes flutter open and she clings to me tightly. I begin to slowly swim back to the dock as I yell at her.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again Chelsea! I thought you were going to die!"

She's laughing. The kind of laugh you get after a near-death experience. "I did it. I did it."

"Did what? What is so important that you would risk your _life_?"

Chelsea looks up into my face. "You."

I'm so startled I almost stop swimming. "Huh?" I manage to keep swimming; we were almost at the dock.

"I broke up with Will." She says and my stupid heart begins to sing. "Right after eating, I told him it wasn't going to work out. He got down on a knee and proposed to me, saying that it could work. I told him it was over and destroyed his feather. And then I kicked him in the nuts for trying to force another one of his disgusting kisses on me."

That was probably the best speech I have ever heard in my life. Natalie helps Chelsea on to the dock. I wasn't mad at her or Chelsea anymore. Though I wanted to understand something.

"What does that have to do with me?" I ask her when I pull myself up out of the water to sit next to her.

"Because I love you, you stupid cowboy." Chelsea laughs the sentence as her lips descend on mine.

* * *

**AWWWW! Let me hear you say "AWWWWW!" I hope you all enjoyed that VERY much. By the way, Vaughn's huge long speach to Natalie: personal experiance wrote that. It is SO true and it SUCKS!**

**And so you know, this is NOT the end. There will be MANY more chapters to put up. Getting them together isn't even HALF the battle. ;)**

**Oh, and I know that Will is OOC in this chapter. Deal. He'll be OOC for the rest of the story and Sabrina a bit too. But that's because it fits with the story, and it's how I see them when I play the actual game.**

**VAUGHNXCHELSEA FOREVER! REVIEWS FOREVER! 3**


	14. Together

**Yes! I got one more update before I leave the internet world for a whole six weeks! Gah! I am so sorry everybody. I will try and put an update together something during that time, but it most likely won't happen. So sorry. Please enjoy this chapter though! I will update AS SOON AS I GET BACK! I love you all, and thanks so much for getting this story above a whopping 60 reviews! This is my most reviewed story I've written, and I appreciate every single one of who that has reviewed!**

**Okay, Vaughn might be a little OOC in this chapter, but get over it! Enjoy and Review! 3

* * *

**

**Together**

Her lips are soft and warm on mine. I'm shocked for a moment as I sit there and let her kiss me, with my mind in complete shock. That's when it hits me; the girl of my dreams was_ kissing_ me, and I was sitting there like an idiot!

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her wet body closer to mine. Her hands wrap around my neck like I had imagined a thousand times before. The way her soft lips melted under mine was purely magic. Where her fingers brushed my neck, I could feel shivers being sent down my back in pleasure.

"Chelsea, what happened to your arm?" Natalie cries out, making us break apart.

That's when I noticed that all of Chelsea's makeup had washed off in the ocean. Once again the bruises and cuts showed up on her skin, though they were a lot better than before.

"Chelsea?" Natalie cries out again, her face contorted with surprise.

"It's nothing." Chelsea mutters to her, but she doesn't remove herself from my grasp.

It's making me a little fuzzy in my head having her this close to me. It was a little hard for me to think, but I was loving it all the same. However, I saw I had to do something about the situation.

"Natalie, you have to swear not to tell a single soul." I glare at her.

She squirms under my hard gaze and nods. Then she looks at Chelsea eagerly. "I promise I won't tell if you don't want me to. But what happened?"

Chelsea sighs. "Remember when I went out to visit my parents? And I said that I'd only had the flu?"

"You didn't have the flu did you?"

Chelsea shakes her eyes and tears begin to run down her face. I pull her closer and hug her tightly, for lack of a better thing to do. It seemed to comfort her as much as it did for me.

Chelsea can't seem to finish, so I beckon Natalie down beside me. When she leans down, I whisper in her ear. "Her parents tied her up and abused her every day for almost a week."

Natalie falls backwards in horror. Chelsea continues to cry as she turns in my arms and begins to sob on my shoulders. Gently I stroke her soaking wet hair. It surprised me how naturally I dealt with her, even after completely shutting myself down to human contact.

Then Natalie covers her look of horror and kneels down. She places her hand lightly on Chelsea's arm, causing her to turn.

"I'm sorry." She whispers to her. "I promise I won't tell. But I'm sure you'll have someone to look after you."

My face darkens in colour, but Chelsea looks up at me with a smile. Her smile is so sweet and innocent, and the fact that she wouldn't be kissing Will anymore makes me smile back at her slightly.

"I'll take you home." I mutter to her softly. She nods and I rise with her still in my arms. Then I turn to Natalie and whisper in her ear. "Can you tell the boat captain that I came down with a bad cold and can't return to work?"

She winks at me. "Of course. Wouldn't want your boss out here to check on you again."

My face darkens once again, but I dip my head in thanks. Then I pull my arm tighter around Chelsea to give her more warmth as we walk to her farm.

We reach the house and we're both shivering by that time. Once we're inside, she rushes to the bathroom and I head to the fireplace.

Over fiddling with a match for a few minutes, I manage to get a fire started with the leftover wood. Soon a blazing fire warms my numb fingers and the heat begins to spread throughout the rest of the house.

Satisfied, I pull up a chair and sit down in it. My eyes close as I enjoy the new-found warmth. The pitter patter of Chelsea's feat echoes as she walks over to where I am. When the sound stops, I open my eyes to find her kneeling down by the fireplace in those same silk pajamas. She glances at me and instantly blushes under my gaze.

I can't help it; my heart completely melts for her. "Come on up here." I tell her gruffly as I point to the space beside me.

Her eyes widen, and I point to the spot again. "Come on, a little more warmth will do you good."

She nods slightly and then walks over to me, her eyes darting from me to the ground with nerves. Then she sits down on the space beside me and I pull her onto my lap, holding my arms securely around her.

We're both tense for a minute, but then she relaxes and snuggles into my arms. I sigh and loosen up too. We both smell like the salt in the ocean, but neither of us cares. My fingertips touch her skin and it sends electric currents across my skin and through my body.

Why on earth had I tried to deny this? This was amazing, beautiful, and perfect. And she was all mine. Gently I kiss the top of her head, not caring about the salt taste that gets in my mouth.

"Vaughn?" Chelsea whispers.

"Yes?" I whisper back.

She turns her head so that she's looking at me. "Are we…are we-"

"Together?" I finish her sentence for her. She nods her head, a hopeful look on her face. I give her a small smile. "Yes."

Her face lights up in a huge grin. The bruises on her face seem to vanish before my very eyes, her happiness radiating something bigger than herself.

Then she wraps her arms around my neck. Her eyes dart from my eyes to my lips as her face moves in closer. When I can feel her breath on mine, she stops moving.

"May I kiss you again Vaughn?" She asks me, her eyes looking at mine in worry.

I don't answer her. Instead I close the distance between us and press my lips to hers. She seems to sigh in content as we kiss. It was soft, sweet, and innocent. Our arms were wrapped around each other, but the kiss was nothing more than our lips pressing against each other; and even that felt like the best high in the world to me.

She sighs happily and leans her head on my chest. I smile at her as I gently stroke her hair. The warmth of the fire and her body against mine lulls me into a state of security, and I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

I wake because of something rapping on the door. My eyes blink open and the first thing I notice is that I was sitting in a chair with Chelsea curled up on my lap, asleep. She seems so pure when she was asleep, like she had no trouble in the world to worry about. It was very calming to me. I had suspected that if I got involved with another girl, it would take me ages to get used to it; but there was just something about Chelsea that made me really comfortable.

Impulsively, I lean down and kiss her closed, sleeping lips. They're warm and soft, just like they had been yesterday. It was exactly how her lips looked too, and was becoming like a drug to me.

I lean back into the chair, the noise at the door had stopped. Then she snuggles closer into me and opens her big blue eyes at me. She offers me a timid smile, which I return.

Her face lights up with my smile. I really had no idea why she liked to see me smile so much. I never had liked smiling, but if it made her happy I would smile forever.

"Morning Vaughn." Chelsea whispers, like she's afraid to believe I was actually there.

"Morning Chelsea." I whisper back to her.

She smiles and then shifts off me to run to the bathroom. But before she enters, her head turns a bit to look back at me again.

I sigh gently and stand up from the chair. My back was a little sore from sleeping upright all night, but other that that I was fine.

Wait a second…I was…fine? Yeah, I didn't feel tired and cranky or mad at something or someone. And now that I thought about it, I hadn't had any dreams last night.

My stomach growls at me, and I frown. "Do you ever get enough food?" I ask my stomach, annoyed. In answer, it growls again. I sigh and shake my head.

I walk to the kitchen and take my daily pills out of my pocket. Quickly, I pop two and then stuff the rest back in my pocket.

Then I start to make some coffee, just out of routine, as I get some porridge out of the fridge.

The coffee just finishes when Chelsea walks out of the bathroom in her normal farming clothes, with her rucksack slung over her shoulder. I notice that she's covered up the bruises and cuts with makeup once again.

I hand her a cup of coffee which she accepts. We sit by the counter of the kitchen on stools. I'm eating a bowl of porridge and she's eating a bowl of cereal. Neither one of us has so much as taken a sip of the coffee.

Neither one of us speaks while we eat, but the silence isn't uncomfortable. As I eat, I keep stealing small glances at her. No matter how much I look though, I can't believe that this absolutely wonderful girl wants to be with a cold cowboy with me.

We finish and I take our dishes and place them in the dish washer. I can feel Chelsea's eyes on me, and it escalates my heart rate even though I'm not looking at her. When I turn around to face her, she blushes and climbs off the stool.

"I should go take care of the animals." She mumbles under her breath.

I nod and she leaves, but I follow closely behind her. If she could take care of the animals by herself, I wanted to be there, just in case.

All the animals are happy to see her again. I get the pleasure of standing and watching her reunite herself with all of them. She seems just as happy, if not happier than the animals. When she's finishes feeding and cuddling all of them, her dog comes barking up to her.

I smile to myself. She's only had that dog since yesterday, but it felt like a long time ago. He barks and licks her face, and it amazes me how close she'd grown to the dog in that short amount of time.

Then Chelsea looks up at me. She's smiling with joy and I smile back under my hat. The puppy comes bounding over to me and I kneel down to him so he can lick my face. I had to admit it was a bit exhilarating; I'd never owned a pet before and I thought Chelsea was really lucky to be able to.

She pulls the puppy off of me and laughs as he licks her while in her arms. Then she slips a leash onto his new collar. "How about a walk Stark?" The puppy yips in agreement as she places him on the ground.

Chelsea smiles nervously at me as we begin to walk out of her farm. The first person we run into is Natalie. Her eyes are wide as she runs over to us.

"Oh my god guys, Will has-" She stops in mid sentence and look down at the Siberian puppy licking her feet.

"I didn't know you had a dog Chelsea." Natalie remarks with a wry look on her face.

She smiles. "His name is Stark. I got him yesterday."

"He's really cute." Natalie smiles at the puppy.

"What happened with Will?" I ask gruffly, trying to steer the conversation back.

Natalie's eyes go really wide again, and she seems to forget about Stark. "No one has seen Will."

"It's what, nine in the morning?"

"It's after noon." Natalie tells us. I guess Chelsea had taken longer to feed the animals than I thought. or we had woken up _really_ late. "And he was supposed to have breakfast with Regis and Sabrina. He's not on his boat either. Everyone has been searching the islands for him, but no one can find him."

Chelsea's face goes pure white. Stark seems to sense her distress because he whine and licks her feet, trying to comfort her. I have to admit that I'm a bit worried too. Will had always seemed more of a man of words to me, but he might be really angry right about now.

Natalie looks back and forth between the two of us. "Do either of you know where he is?"

We both shake our heads in denial. Natalie looks really worried. "Well, just to let you know. Watch yourselves, because if Will is hiding on purpose he's probably coming after the two of you."

I nod tightly. If he so much as thought about trying to make a move on Chelsea I would whip out my knife and plunge it into his arm faster than he could say 'uncle'.

Natalie nods back and then rushes off somewhere else. Chelsea sighs as she gathers Stark in her arms. "Talk about putting cloud of rain over your head."

I agree with her. But I couldn't complain. I was missing work on purpose for the first time in my life to be with her, and I wasn't going to let some snot nosed rich boy ruin it for me.

"He won't get to you." I promise her softly.

"Thanks." She smiles and hugs Stark close to her body. He seems content as he pants, and I'm a bit jealous of the dog. But I had patience.

"I have to see Gannon." Chelsea tells me quietly as she begins to walk. I follow right beside her.

When we get to his house, I open the door for her and she smiles at me. I could do things to make her smile all day, forever. It gave me an inner peace when she was happy and smiling at me.

"Hi Gannon." Chelsea says to the bulky man.

"Morning Chelsea." He says gruffly. "Do you want to buy something?"

"Actually, I'd like you to upgrade my house a bit." I notice that her face darkens a bit, and I wonder why. It was good that she was thinking about making sure her own health was a priority. Why would she be blushing about getting a bigger house?

Gannon glances at me as he takes the money. What the heck? Was there something about upgrading a house I didn't understand? "I'll have it done tomorrow." He chuckles and winks at Chelsea when he thinks I'm not looking.

Okay, now I'm super confused. What the hell was Gannon doing and why would Chelsea be embarrassed about it?

"Thanks Gannon." Chelsea mutters, her face still red. Then she flees the building. Gannon looks at me and chuckles to himself. I narrow my eyes at him briefly and then follow Chelsea, his laugh echoing in my head.

"What was that about?" I ask Chelsea when I catch up to her.

"N-nothing." She stutters, telling me that it was indeed something. Something important.

I don't ask though; if she didn't want me to know, that was her business. Next we walk into Chen's store.

"Morning Chen." Chelsea smiles at the Asian man. His son doesn't appear to be around. Now that I think about it, Gannon's daughter hadn't been in his house. The two were probably off playing together.

"Morning Chelsea." Chen smiles at her as she clutches her dog closer to her. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, um, can I see your catalog?" She asks, her face darkening. Chen hands her a piece of paper with a list of items on it. I desperately want to read over her shoulder to see what was embarrassing her so much but I don't want to embarrass her further.

While she looks, I take to looking around the shop. That's when I notice something on the wall. I take a few steps closer, but my eyes aren't deceiving me. There are four blue feathers on the wall.

"Chen." I remark without looking back. "What are these doing here?"

Chen chuckles. I take a look back to see Chelsea pointing at something on the catalog, with her face redder than a tomato. My eyes narrow. What was so freaking funny?

I clear my throat loudly and they both look at me. Chelsea's eyes widen at the sight of the blue feathers. "Chen, why are you stocking blue feathers?" She gasps in shock.

Now Chen looks a little embarrassed. "Well, Will asked me to get one for him the other day, and I got four more on a special deal so I though, why not? Some of the guys on this island are going to need them. Sooner or later." I notice that Chen looks directly at me when he says the last part.

Chelsea shivers and Stark licks her face in comfort. "Did you know Will proposed to me last night?" She asks Chen.

Chen looks surprised. "Really? Congratulations Chelsea." He's smiling at her.

Chelsea shudders and I scowl at the thought. "I didn't accept it.' She tells him, with distaste in her voice.

Now Chen looks really confused. "Isn't that why you just bought a-" He stops in the middle of his sentence and I catch Chelsea shaking her head a little bit with wide eyes, trying to signal him without my notice. I notice.

"Uh, never mind." Chen finishes lamely as he accepts some money from Chelsea. She smiles briefly at him and then flees the building once again.

I raise my eyebrows at Chen and he chuckles at me as he heads to the back room. I exit the shop, more confused than I remember being in a long time. What the heck was going on?

* * *

**Cliff hanger! I'm so evil aren't I? **


	15. Return of the Evil One

**Aren't you all lucky? One more chapter for you all before I leave. You can all thank LynAnn1996 but begging me to put up another chapter! Enjoy and please review! I look forward to updating when I come back!

* * *

**

**Return of the Evil One**

"Chelsea, what was that all about?" I ask her as we reach the Animal Shop.

She just shakes her head. "Nothing important. I was just ordering some stuff for my upgraded house."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, that's your business."

Her shoulders sag and she looks up at me with a tired look. Maybe she hadn't gotten as much sleep as I had thought. But there weren't any dark circles under her eyes.

Suddenly her lips are on mine, and the sweetness of her lips is just so undeniable. My arms snake around her body to hold her closer to me while I kiss back softly.

She breaks off and smiles up at me. "I promise that it's nothing."

I give her a small smile. With a kiss like that, I'd pretty much believe her if she told me pigs could fly. Even though I know it's a lie.

We walk into the Animal Shop to find Mirabelle sitting at the counter. When she looks up, she has a shocked look on her face.

"Vaughn, weren't you supposed to leave last night?"

Oh crap. What was I supposed to say to her? I can't tell her that I faked being sick….then an idea pops in my head.

"I took some vacation days. My boss is always whining at me about how I have so many unused ones."

She smiles and seems satisfied with my answer. Then she turns to Chelsea. "I see you've got yourself a dog."

Chelsea blushes. "Yes, Mirabelle. His name is Stark."

"That's a wonderful name for a dog." Mirabelle smiles sweetly at her. "Would you be here to buy dog food perhaps?"

"Yes please."

Mirabelle bends down and retrieves some dog from below the counter. As they exchange money for the goods, Julia comes bounding in the door.

Her huge smile vanishes for a second when she sees me. "Vaughn, I thought you had work tomorrow?"

"Vacation." I grumble as I pull my hat down over my eyes.

"Oh." Her smile soon reappears. "Guess who's here to visit!"

We all shrug in unison. Suddenly a man walks through the door of the Animal shop and I feel like my world just crashed down on top of my head.

The man was wearing tight purple pants with fancy black shoes and a leopard print sweater over a black shirt. There was a silver necklace that hung around his neck, and his eyes were a dazzling sky blue, like my mothers. His hair has also silver; just like my own.

"It's Skye!" Julia squeals.

"It's wonderful to all of you fair maidens again." Then he looks at me. "Hello Vaughn."

"Get out." I whisper, my eyes narrowed in hatred at him.

He appears shocked, but I know it's only an act. "You would throw your own brother out of the house? My you haven't changed a bit have you?"

"Half brother." I mutter through clenched teeth.

He just waves his hand and smiles, like there was no difference. I keep my eyes narrowed at him. "I thought you were in jail." I spit out in hate.

Skye gives me a flashy smile. "Why would I be in jail? I sell curry. Is that a crime?" His voice is smooth, but I see right through his lies.

"You know very well why you should be in jail." I mutter at him as I glare with the full force of my eyes.

He's not fazed though. Then he catches sight of Chelsea and he smiles as he walks over to her. "My word, tell me beautiful maiden; do you believe in love at first sight?"

Her eyes dart over to me, and her face blushes a soft pink. My face deepens in colour as well. "Ummm…why?" She answers instead.

"Would you like me to walk by again?"

Chelsea's eyes are wide as he steps closer to her. I notice that she takes a slight step back and I smile under my hat.

"I didn't know you had a half brother Vaughn." Chelsea calls out to me as her eyes dart in my direction.

"I'd rather you never had to find out." I mutter under my breath.

Skye places his hand on hers, one that's holding the bag of dog food. Stark is on the ground now and is softly growling at him. I applaud the dog in my head. "Would you like any help with that, maiden?"

Chelsea shakes his hand off of hers. "I don't need help."

He just smiles at her. "Don't let such raw anger spoil such beauty as yours."

I've had enough by this point. I take the two strides needed to reach them, and I put an arm around Chelsea's waist. Then I glare at Skye as he looks at me in genuine surprise.

"She's taken."

He gives me a huge smile, recovering from his brief moment of shock. "Why brother, I didn't know you were capable of attracting such beautiful women."

Julia and Mirabelle, on the other hand, gasp and look at us in shock. "Vaughn!"

Aw great. Forgot about that part; here comes the fireworks.

"Vaughn, we didn't know you two were dating!" Mirabelle cries out.

"Chelsea, I thought you were with Will?" Julia asks surprised.

Chelsea blushes. "I broke up with Will last night."

Julia squeals again, her normal signature. "Congrats guys!"

We're both blushing by now, but Skye doesn't miss a beat. "So beautiful, you like your boyfriend there?"

"Skye," I warn him with my tone and my ever present glare for him.

"Um, yeah." Chelsea answers, looking confused at the look on my face.

Skye gives her a sly smile. "Well, when you want a _man_friend, give me a call."

"Men don't wear leopard print shirts." Chelsea snaps at him.

He just winks at her and waves to Julia and Mirabelle, and then leaves without giving me so much as a passing glance.

Julia sighs and skips around the room. "Isn't he one of the most amazing guys you're ever met?" She giggles again and I want to throttle her. "Too bad he's related to us."

"Jackass." I mutter under my breath.

Chelsea catches it though and gives me a curious look. "Thanks for the dog food Mirabelle."

"No problem sweetie." She smiles at the two of us, then when Chelsea turns around she winks at me and mouths the words 'I told you so'.

Chelsea pulls me out of the Animal Shop, along with Stark who has no longer growling.

"You want some help with that?" I mumble as I watch her struggle to carry the huge bag of dog food.

She smiles at me gratefully as she passes me the bag. "Thanks."

I nod as we begin to walk back to her farm. The bag isn't really that heavy for me, so I manage to carry it with one arm. Chelsea slips her hand into my free one and I smile at the pleasant warmth and tingle her skin gave me.

"So why do you hate your half brother?" She asks me.

I scowl. "He's the offspring of my mother and some guy who raped her one night." I scowl again at the memory.

"I'm sorry." Chelsea squeezes my hand, and it makes me feel much better, so I give her a little more of the story.

"It was my fault. I was maybe two years old and threw a tantrum because I left a toy at the park. She went back to get it herself, because it was my bedtime. And, and….." I take a deep breath in. "It's my entire fault."

She squeezes my hand again. "If you were two years old, then it's not your fault. You were barely a child; you can't hold yourself responsible for that."

I scowl again. It was my fault and nothing would ever change that. If I had never brought the toy in the first place, if I hadn't left it there, if I hadn't cared so much about the stupid toy, maybe my life would be different.

Chelsea doesn't know this, but the reason my mother's disease was activated was because she got raped. The guy gave her HIV and AIDS and it triggered her disease to go into motion. She died five years later, and it's my entire fault. If I hadn't been so selfish, maybe she would still be alive.

I don't tell Chelsea this. That information I kept locked up inside myself. I don't know if I'd ever be able to tell anyone.

"Does he really sell curry?"

I let out a hoarse laugh. "No. He makes curry in his spare time, but it's the only thing he's good at and he doesn't sell it. Skye would know an honest day's work if it bitch-slapped him in the face."

Chelsea look shocked. "What does he do then?"

"Skye's a thief. And he thinks that he's 'prince' for all 'maidens' to adore and love." I snort. "I hate him."

Chelsea squeezes my hand again and leans on my shoulder. "You're far cuter than he is."

My face darkens, but I love that Chelsea wasn't the slightest interested in my half-brother; like every other girl in the world would be.

Then her head snaps up from my arm and her hands let go of mine. "Oh god no." Then she drops Stark's leash and begins running.

We were still on the pathway to her farm, so I'm stunned for a minute. When Stark takes off after her, barking all the way, I finally notice her house. Then I run after her too.

I reach the house and stand beside Chelsea, where I drop the dog food; missing Stark by an inch.

Gannon is standing by Chelsea, scratching his head. "Now Chelsea, I know I said I could upgrade this in a day, but I had no idea your house was in such bad shape."

Neither did anyone else. Well all stand and gaze at the wreckage. All the windows were broken and glass was scattered around the snow. The walls of the house looked like they had been attacked with an axe, and the door was bent in half.

Suddenly a picture floats out of the house. Chelsea grabs it, her eyes still frozen in shock. I look over her shoulder to see that it's the picture she took of me while I was in that coma. Her eyes go wide. "My pictures." She whispers, and then she runs into the house.

"Chelsea!" I cry after her as I run into the house. "Chelsea, it's not safe in here!"

I find her kneeling by the wall that had all her pictures. After taking a quick look around and finding all her furniture broken or damaged beyond repair, I kneel down beside her.

In her hands are shreds of photos. All around her pictures are scattered, but they were all ripped or shredded. Tears were rolling down her face, and in front of her was a camera with a knife sticking out of it.

"My camera," She whispers, her voice chocked with tears.

I put my arms around her, and she falls right into them; like she was a blade of grass being tossed by the wind. Carefully, I help her out of the broken building; silver tears leaking out of her eyes the entire way.

When we get outside, Gannon is just staring at us. "I'll have it fixed by spring." He grunts. I nod at him briefly and the look at Chelsea. Spring was still a good two weeks away.

"Chelsea…" I start, but I don't have to say anything else. She fully wraps her arms around me and begins to sob into my chest. I sigh gently and hold her tight, stroking her hair and telling her everything would be all right.

Stark sits quietly, and then something floats by me. I grab it without Chelsea's notice and read the note, hatred and revenge beginning to grow in my heart.

_I'm never turned down._

_ You just made the biggest mistake of your life._

_ And you will, regret it._

_ Will_

There was half of a blue feather taped to the note.

* * *

**Try living with that cliffhanger for almost six weeks! Aw, I'm so mean, and I'm so sorry for it. Later everyone!**


	16. Moments

**A/N: I figured out my iPod has an app on it that lets me type documents! So I WILL be able to update over my 6 week vacation! You are VERY welcome! And I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if there's not much of importance happens. Don't worry, the drama will occur VERY soon! ;) Please review and thank you to EVERYONE who has done so! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

* * *

**Moments**

I took Chelsea back to the Animal Shop when she stopped crying. But I didn't like her expression; she looked dazed and her face was blank, as if all her emotion had just left her face. It scared me a bit.

Mirabelle and Julia practically jump on us when we stumble in the door. It was a bright sunny day outside, but Mirabelle made us both mugs of hot chocolate.

We're both sitting on the couch, my arm wrapped tightly around her. She absently sipped her drink and I didn't even touch mine as I gazed upon her in concern.

"What happened?" Julia asks softly as she kneels down next to Chelsea.

Chelsea's eyes blink and the vacant look doesn't disappear from her face. She sips the hot chocolate, but her hands shake as she brings the cup to her lips.

Gently I take the mug from her and set it on the ground, making a small tinkering sound. Her head leans against my shoulder but her arms lie uselessly in her lap.

I catch Mirabelle and Julia exchange worried glances. I couldn't help but be grateful that Chelsea had been able to cover up her bruises, or else we'd be facing the grand inquisition.

"Chelsea?" Mirabelle whispers to her, but she doesn't respond.

"Chelsea, please tell us what happened." Julia asks, her face creased in confusion.

Abruptly the door flies open, smacks the wall and I see two pink haired people standing in the doorway.

"Chelsea! We saw what happened to your house!" Elliot blurts out, his glasses lopsided on his face.

"What?" Mirabelle and Julia cry out in unison.

Elliot pulls them out of the house; to show them Chelsea's house probably. Natalie walks slowly over to us and kneels down.

I take the note from Will out of my front pocket and hand it to her without a word. Her eyes scan over the words that were burned into my mind, and then they widen in surprise.

She hands the note back to me and I tuck it back into my pocket. Then she takes Chelsea from me and wraps her arms around her in a tight hug. Chelsea doesn't move for a second but then she wraps her arms around Natalie and I sigh in relief.

When Natalie releases her, Chelsea leans back into my arms and wraps her arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around her too, glad she wasn't in that daze anymore.

Natalie snorts. "I guess we won't be looking for him anymore."

"Who? Will? Why?" Chelsea's brow furrows in confusion.

"No reason." I whisper to her as I kiss the top of her head gently.

She smiles slightly and then looks up at me. "Thank you Vaughn."

I shrug and pull my hat over my blushing face. Chelsea laughs and leans her head on my chest. A sigh escapes my lips; she would be fine.

Mirabelle, Julia and Elliot walk back in the door, worried looks on all their faces.

"Oh Chelsea!" Julia runs over and plucks Chelsea up from the couch to wrap her in a bear hug. Her body tightens up even as she hugs Julia back.

My eyes narrow. Who knew what damage that could do to her? Both Natalie and I knew not to hold her too tightly, but no one else did.

"I'm so sorry about your house dear." Mirabelle consoles her.

Chelsea laughs and shrugs as Julia releases her. " I don't mind. Gannon was going to upgrade my house anyway, so it's no big deal."

No big deal my ass. I knew she was just putting on a show for them; I don't think she was the kind of person to cry around others. It made me feel really...special...that she felt she could cry around me. Though I think if I ever was the reason for her tears...I don't even know what I would do. But it would pain me more than any physical injury could.

"Well you're welcome to stay here until then dear." Mirabelle offers with a smile.

Julia squeals and I feel my mouth open in shock. "Omigod!" She giggles like a frivolous school girl. My eyes dart to Elliot and I nearly throw up on the couch at the sight of the adoring look he was giving her. "It'll be like the best sleepover in the history of sleepovers! We can do each others hair, and nails and..."

The rest of her speech is wasted on me. Chelsea would be sleeping in the same house as me again. That's happened two times; one ended in extreme embarrassment and the other in pure bliss. Who knew what might happen the next time?

Chelsea smiles, but I notice that she glances at me nervously. I do my best to look indifferent. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate it."

Suddenly the devil walks out of the back room. He flashes his bright grin at Chelsea. "Did I hear that right love?"

My eyes narrow at Skye as he walks gracefully up to us. "Is the beautiful young lady really going to be sleeping under this roof?"

Julia squeals again, oblivious to Skye's obvious flirting.  
"Yes she is! It's going to be amazing!"

Skye winks at me and I scowl at him. "I'm sure it will be something we will never forget." His voice may sound like velvet to some people but I felt like his voice was trying to strangle me.

Natalie speaks up. "Who are you?"

Skye notices her for the first time. Smoothly he floats over everyone else to stand in front of her. "I'm Skye, darling maiden. Vaughn's brother."

"Half-brother." I mutter darkly under my breath. It ticked me off to the ends of the earth to even think that he was related to me.

"Oh." Natalie looks up and down him, her face blushing softly.

"You know," Skye begins to whisper to her, but I can hear. "The sun rose just to see your beautiful face this morning."

Her face darkens in colour and I growl at my half-brother. Natalie backs out of the house after mumbling something about meeting Pierre.

Julia grabs Elliot's arm. "Will you go shopping with me? Please?" Then last word rises a pitch and I can practically see him melt.

They leave with smiles on both of their faces. Mirabelle chuckles as she heads to her room; unknowingly leaving Chelsea and I alone with a body containing pure evil.

"So Chelsea." Skye flashes another smile at her as she sinks down on the couch. He sits down next to her, far too close for my liking. "You know, if I could rearrange the Alphabet, I would put U and I together."

I growl at him. "If I could rearrange the Alphabet, I would put F and U together."

Skye simply smiles and waves me off. "Chelsea, you won't be able to deny it. We're meant to be together. It's written in the stars."

I'm up and dragging him out of the room before he can react. When we're out of sight I slam him against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growl at him menacingly.

He gives me that smile that I loathe with my entire being. "Brother, we both know that you've never been able to hold on to a girl long."

"Only cause you're always interfering!" I practically bite his head off, referring to all the times Sabrina and I had ever fought. All. His. Fault.

Skye waves his hand again, like the details were of no importance. "I'm simply making this easier on you."

My eyes narrow at him and I tighten my grip on his shirt so that he's a few inches off the ground.

"You leave her alone or I will personally make sure that you won't ever be able to steal anything ever again." My voice is low but echoes with the meaning of the threat I won't hesitate to carry out.

His eyes widen but he smiles at me. "You think she's the one don't you?"

My face darkens. "That's none of your business."

Skye smirks. "Alright brother. I will let up a bit, but I can't help if she chooses me instead."

I realize him suddenly so that he's sprawled on the floor. He rises as smooth as ever, flashes a grin at me and then begins to walk back to the main room.

I follow close behind him to find Chelsea talking to a girl I've never seen before. Her hair was black and done up in a fancy hairdo. Her eyes were a deep gray that contrasted her light complexion. She wore a red robe adorned with jewels.

Chelsea looks back at me and smiles. "Vaughn! This is Lily. She's a treasure hunter."

"A treasure hunter huh?" Skye smiles and slips in front of Chelsea to give his dazzling smile to Lily. "I'm Skye, a bit of a treasure hunter myself."

Lily smiles. "Really?"

He smiles. "Yes. The stars help guide me."

I snort. "That's BS Skye." I turn to Lily. "He's a thief."

Lily's nose crinkles in distaste. "I don't take what belongs to others. Treasures that are owned have no romance."

She turns to Chelsea. "We shall meet again later. It was nice to meet you." Chelsea smiles at her.

Lily nods her head at me, a gesture I return, and then she leaves the house.

Skye is frowning. "Ouch. I'd better go straighten this out with her." He runs after her, finally leaving me alone with Chelsea.

She collapses on the couch, a pained look crossing her face as she holds her hands tight against her sides. My eyes widen surprise as I sink down on the couch beside her.

"Hard to imagine that it was only this morning we were eating breakfast in that mess." She whispers as she leans back against the couch.

It was a little hard to believe; but it was something I would never forget. Even though it was the second time I'd waken up with her in my arms, it was an amazing sensation to know that I had fallen asleep with her too.

She groans a bit as she shifts position. "You want some Advil?" I ask her softly.

Chelsea nods and I take some out of my pocket. I give it to her as well as her hot chocolate. She takes the medicine and then sips at the hot chocolate.

I ignore mine sitting on the ground. As inconspicuously as I could, I watched Chelsea. A bit of a rosy blush came to her cheeks as she drank the warm drink. Her hair fell delicately over her shoulders and my fingers were itching to run through it. Her soft lips graced the mug as she drank and for a second I wish that I was the mug.

Suddenly she sniffles and puts down the mug. Then she sniffles again as she leans on my shoulder.

"Chelsea...?" I'm concerned about her; but then again, I'm not used to emotional woman.

She utters a strained laugh. "My mother bought me that camera as a graduation present."

I scowl, but I didn't know what to say. So I just wrap my arm around her and she snuggles into me. There's a smile on her face, so I guess I did something right.

We sit like that for a long time. I never thought I would enjoy simply sitting with a girl again. Her hair smelt like a waterfall and I could lose myself in the sensation of her skin against mine. Now I could understand why it was so easy for girls to seduce guys; they were just too amazing to refuse.

"When are you going back to work?" Chelsea asks me suddenly.

I shrug. "Next week, regular time."

Chelsea begins to blush. "Well, when you g-get b-back, it'll be the 24th and I was w-wondering if...uh..."

My face must have been shocked because she stopped talking. Under her breath I catch the words 'never mind'.

It was 12th today. In the back of my mind I remember that it was Sabrina's birthday today, but I don't care. When I leave it would be the 19th and when I got back it would be the 24th; the Starry Night Festival. She was trying to ask me out on a date after finding her home destroyed.

I chuckle under my breath and pull her closer to me. She was defiantly not like most girls; and I liked that about her.

"Would you go to the Starry Night Festival with me Chelsea?" I whisper softly in her ear.

She blushes a deep red and I feel the warmth on the side of my face. My eyes close and I breath in; I wanted to hold her forever and never let go.

"Yes." Chelsea whispers the word but my heart hears it as if it had been yelled. I feel like the happiest man in the world, and I wanted to share it.

Suddenly I jump up and hold my hand out to Chelsea. I could feel adrenaline coursing through my body and I knew that excitement lit up my eyes. My face breaks out into a huge grin and Chelsea laughs. I notice something in her eyes; it was a strange thing, but I'd seen it before in her eyes.

"Dance with me?" I ask her, my heart pounding. "Please?"

She blushes again and slides her hand into mine. Immediately I take the lead and begin to spin her around the floor. There's no music playing, but I don't need any. Her laughter peals like bells and that's all the music I need.

Chelsea holds on to me as I spin her and twirl the both of us in a dance I make up as we go along. It's a fast paced dance, my adrenaline must have been coming out. She was laughing and I laughed along. She smiled and I smiled back to her.

We dance until both our feet are sore and then we continue dancing. Eventually we both run out of steam and are breathing loudly out of our mouths.

I wrap my arms tighter around her waist and slow the pace down to a would be slow dance. Her head rests on my chest and I close my eyes as I remember the last time we'd danced. I'd wanted to kiss her so bad that night. Well, I wasn't messing up again.

Gently, I place my fingers under her chin and tilt her face towards mine. Her skin felt like the smoothest material in the world to me.

Her big blue eyes look up at me with that same expression, as well as thanks. I guess she was grateful I was showing so much emotion. Well get ready for a lot more emotion girl.

My eyes close as I tilt my head down to hers. Her eyes close just before mine as her arms wrap around my neck. Slowly my arms snake around her waist and I pull her closer to me. Out lips meet in the sweetest touch of the world.

One of my hands rises to her face to cup her cheek in my hand as I try to pull her closer; to get more of the bliss she gave me. Her hand tangles itself in my hair, her fingers separating the wild silver mess like water. A low moan echoes from the back of my throat and shocks me; but I love it.

Chelsea seems to as well. Her heart is pounding furiously in her chest as it beats in time with my own over working heart. Then her tongue taps my closed tips.

She must have been as surprised as I was because she jumped back about a foot and out of my grasp. I'm a little dazed, but I could feel my face reddening as much as hers was.

"S-s-s-sorry V-Vaughn." Chelsea stutters. Little did she know that even though I was surprised, I wanted her to do it again. So I walk the few steps towards her.

"I-if y-you d-d-didn't w-want t-to-" I break her off in the middle of her stuttering excuse to kiss her full on the mouth.

I make the first move. My tongue reaches out and hers meets it. They intertwine as they melt together in imitation of a dance. We're both clutching at each other; both wanting more, even if we don't know what that is exactly.

Impulsively, I reach down to pick her up and spin her around while my lips were still on hers. She giggles and breaks off to clutch my neck. Chelsea was a lot lighter than I'd thought and I could spin her around easy.

Gently I set her down and she wobbles a bit. We both laugh at that and then we sit down on the couch. She wraps her arms around my waist and my arm slides around her shoulder. In content she sighs and leans her head on my chest. If I died right now I would die a happy man.

Then door to the Animal Shop slams open and my cousin stands in the doorway with about a dozen shopping bags on her arms.

"Have you two been sitting there all day?" Julia laughs. "What did you do all day?"

All day? I glance at the clock to find that it was just a little after eight at night. Time passed much faster than I'd thought.

"Oh well." Julia perks up even though neither of us said anything. "Chelsea, I hope you don't mind an early birthday present because you're going to LOVE what I got you at the store!"

"Julia, my birthday's not until the 21st of the month." Chelsea frowns.

Julia waves it off. "I also got something for Vaughn's birthday." Then she sticks her tongue out at me. "But you have to wait until your birthday."

I roll my eyes. "When's your birthday?" Chelsea asks me softly.

"3rd of Spring." I whisper back but my mind was already thinking of something else. While I may not be on the Island for Chelsea's birthday, I was on the island three days after. And I knew the perfect item to get her.


	17. Eye of the Hurricane

**Alright, we have another update! There will be another chapter after this because I'm feeling so generous. By the way, for those of you that don't know, the eye of a hurricane is the calm part of the storm before trouble strikes.**

* * *

**Eye of the Hurricane**

After stepping out of a steaming hot late night shower, I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

My jaw length silver hair was curled inwards slightly and dripped at a constant rate with water droplets that fell on my bare shoulders. My skin was slightly bronzed, but looked more dark and husky than goldenly tanned. I guess I had good muscles, but honestly; I don't pay much attention to that.

Slowly my hand reached up to brush across my jaw. There was slight stubble growing there, and for the first time ever I contemplate growing a beard. I wonder what Chelsea would think.

Absently I slip on my black silk boxers as I think about it. Only this afternoon Chelsea had found her house in ruins. This morning we were eating breakfast together in her house. And it was only about twenty-four hours ago that Chelsea and I finally became a couple.

I was quite ready to hit the hay. I was exhausted; I couldn't even imagine what Chelsea felt. Just the thought of her in pain makes something wild rise up and try to possess me until I exacted revenge. Fortunately, I could control it. Sometimes.

I wander to my room and hear Julia's soft snore from down the hall. A slight smile tugs at my lips; I loved my cousin, she may act like crazy hot chick, but she was really sweet.

A look at the clock shows the time of nearly eleven at night. Dimly I can hear Mirabelle's pen scratching away on paper in her room. At the opposite end of the hall I can hear Skye's soft moans. He was probably having another dream about a girl. I scowl at the thought that it might be Chelsea. Sadly I note that I can't hear Chelsea at all. I quickly slip into my room to get away from the noises of the night.

My room is pitch dark besides the small ray of moonlight that streamed in through the window. As I walk to my bed, I notice something at my desk.

I approach cautiously, but shake my head and laugh softly when I see who it is. Chelsea had fallen asleep on my desk. She must have been waiting for me or something.

Gently I tuck my arms under the crevice of her legs and behind her back. Then I lift her light body and carry her to my bed with ease.

I place her down on the bed tenderly, not wanting to hurt her. She was dressed once again in those ridiculous lacy pajamas. But it made my heart race all the same.

The shorts were mid thigh and had at least two finger spaces of space between the cloth and her skin. Her breathing was even and steady, her chest rising in pace with it. Lace adorned the top of the shirt near her breasts and would shift slightly every time she breathed. Her shirt rose a little above her waist; showing just enough skin to make my mouth dry up more than the desert sun.

Roughly I shake my head as I pull a blanket over her. She smiles in her sleep and clutches the blanket over her. I smile too. It was wrong to imagine taking her, especially if she was asleep. But I am a guy, and it's these moments that do me in. The moments where she looks so helpless and innocent, I just wanted to kiss her and make the world a better place just for her.

I sit down at my desk, taking her place. It was funny how much Chelsea had changed me. I was feeling emotions I hadn't felt in years, and they were stronger; and they felt so right. Amid the desire and passion for her I felt, there was this odd calm and sense of rightness that would fall over me around her. While I may not be talking as much to other people, she made me show way more emotion than I was used to.

I wonder what my mother would have thought of Chelsea. Without a doubt I knew that she would love her, just like I do. But what about my father? What would he think about the mistake he thought he made now? If we ever got married, would he have walked her down the aisle in replace of her own father?

Gently I sigh as I wrap a blanket around myself. How badly I wish that at least one of them was still alive. But I knew that would never happen. I went to my own mother's funeral, which I could have stopped if only I hadn't made her go back for that stupid toy. And the police said that Dad had been burned alive in the car crash; no remaining trace of him.

A tear leaks out of my eye and I quickly brush it away. Now was no time for mourning. Sleep came first and maybe eventually I'll get this sorrow out of my system. Maybe. Probably never, but Chelsea was making me a more hopeful person.

My eyes fall shut of their own accord and I drift off to sleep among thoughts of my parents.

* * *

I jolt awake, my breath uneven and my heart beat erratic. Sweat was dripping down my face and I felt like I had just run a marathon. But for the first time ever, I can't remember what my nightmare was about.

My brow creases. Was that a good sign or a bad sign? I take a deep breath in as I try to calm myself down. Glancing quickly around the room, I notice something that only makes my heart race faster with fear.

Chelsea was gone.

I'm up and out of my seat faster than I knew I could move. I yank my door open and begin to furiously search the house.

Just as I'm practically running into the kitchen, I ram straight into another person and we're both sent sprawling. I hear a plastic cup hit the floor with a thud along with a sound like spilt liquid. Thankfully, no one screamed.

"Vaughn?" The shocked whisper comes from in front of me and I sigh in relief at the familiar voice.

"Chelsea." I breathe out thankfully.

"Yes?" She asks me, confused. "What's wrong?"

I wasn't going to tell her that I thought Will might have kidnapped her. It was a really out of character thing for him to do, but after destroying Chelsea's house I wouldn't put anything past that guy.

Instead I reach forward to cup her cheeks in both my hands, and then I kiss her passionately on the lips. She seems surprised, but kisses back with enthusiasm. Soon both our mouths are demanding and we're breathing heavily.

I break off and lean my forehead against hers, breathing out of my mouth. Even though it's dark I can see her smile.

"Not that I don't appreciate that," She starts, her breathing ragged. "But are you okay?"

I nod my forehead against hers as I intertwine my hand and hers. "I am now."

I can feel her blushing and I squeeze her hand a bit. "What were you doing up?" I ask her softly.

She blushes again. "You were having a nightmare again, so I went to get a wet cloth and some milk." Chelsea shrugs and looks down at her pajamas, now covered in milk.

"Maybe that wasn't the wisest idea ever." She gives me a slight smile. "I don't have any other pajamas."

I stare at her for a minute, not comprehending what she was saying. She blushes and bows her head a bit. Quickly I glance away. Mostly because that movement had caused me to look straight down her shirt.

Instinctively, I rise to my feet and walk to the opposite end of the room. Panic was making my heart pound and the horror/exhilaration of what just happened was making my head spin.

Chelsea mops up the milk on the floor with the wet cloth. I stand and watch her, my heart still pounding.

Afterwards she stands and dumps the cloth in the sink. Then she begins to walk by me and I grab her wrist gently.

"You can wear one of my shirts to bed." The words come out of my mouth so softly; I doubt that I even said them.

Chelsea smiles though. "I'd love that." Then she takes my hand and we walk back to my room.

I toss her one of my black shirts. She smirks as she catches it in the air.

"Turn around." She tells me and I raise my eyebrow. Chelsea chuckles. "I don't want you seeing me naked. Turn around, please."

My eyes widen but I quickly turn around and then shut my eyes closed tightly. I could hear the sound of clothing hitting the floor and I felt sure that she could hear my pulse that seemed to be beating louder than a shotgun.

Suddenly something soft brushes my lips in a tender but firm kiss. I open my eyes to see Chelsea smiling up at me with my shirt on her.

If I even had my breath from my panic attack earlier, I would have lost it again that second. She looked really good in my shirt.

She blushes. "Your shirt is really comfy. It smells like you." She admits the last part softly.

I wrap my arms around her. "You're welcome to have it." I whisper to her. "You look good in my shirt."

Now we're both blushing even as we stand there awkwardly. Me in my black silk boxers and her in my black shirt.

After a bit, I let go and now we're really standing there awkwardly.

"So..." Chelsea starts.

"So..." I repeat.

"W-we should go to bed." Chelsea grimaces and nods her head.

"We should." I agree as I nod my head along with her. So I turn and climb into my bed, facing the wall.

Then someone slides in beside me and wraps their arm around my waist. I turn around to look into Chelsea's big blue eyes. She blushes. "I don't want you having a nightmare again."

I wrap my arms around her too, grateful. She would probably never know how much I loved that she wanted to sleep by me. How much I loved the feel of her skin against mine.

So I try to show her. I lean down to kiss her softly on the lips but she responds eagerly and my body kicks it up a notch. Out lips move furiously against each other and she presses herself tightly against me. A low moan comes from the back of my throat and seems to egg her on. I don't think I was in control anymore; but I don't think I cared.

Suddenly she's on top of me. My hands are around her waist as she presses against me, holding me tight. Her lips break off of mine and we gaze into each others eyes through our raged breathing.

Then her eyes gleam and she flashes me a mischievous smile. Slowly, she leans down and kisses me softly on my jaw. She trails the long, lingering kisses across my jaw and down my neck. My chest is heaving violently, but she seems to love it. Her hands delicately trace the muscles in my stomach and then on my chest. Then her lips trail back to my mouth where she kisses me full on the mouth.

A groan from me comes out against her pressed lips. I knew I was turned on; I probably had been for a while now. If she knew, she wasn't telling me. Instead she presses even more tightly against me and I open my mouth in another low moan. She slips her tongue into my open mouth at that, and I return the favor eagerly.

Then her hands are on mine. Her skin feels deliciously cool to me and I sigh. I begin to slow the kiss down, needing my breathing to be more normal. Only then do I realize that Chelsea had been sliding my hands down towards her butt.

I freeze. My eyes snap open and I break off our kiss to practically jump off the bed.

My eyes are wide as I stare at Chelsea, but I'm not really seeing her. I'm remembering, once again, the horrid night where everything went wrong. Sabrina had let me touch her like that on that night, and my heart was broken. I couldn't do that again.

"Vaughn?" Chelsea whispers as she walks up to me slowly. "I-I'm s-sorry, if I did something w-wrong."

I shake my head. No, I loved it when she couldn't keep her hands off me. It made me remember that she never wanted anyone but me. Plus, it felt so good to be touched by her.

"What's wrong then?" She asks me softly as she places her hand on my arm.

"I'm scared." I tell her truthfully. That was it pretty much. I was scared that if I became too happy again, that my world would crumble beneath me again.

Chelsea smiles though. "We can go slow. I'm sorry I was going fast. I j-just got a little excited." She leans up to kiss me gently on the cheek.

Then she smiles and grabs my hand. "Come on. I know how to make you feel better."

Chelsea guides me to the back room with all the animals. She smiles back at me as we head into the sheep pen. All the sheep were sleeping and she pulled me down next to them.

Then she lies down on one of the sheep and closes her eyes. "Come on. Lie down on any one of them. They're very comfy." She mutters the last part as she sighs in content.

So I lie down next to her. She was right, the sheep was comfy. Her eyes flutter open. "You did say to lie down on any one of them." I whisper to her.

Chelsea blushes and snuggles closer to me. I wrap my arm around her and fall asleep to the steady breathing and heartbeat of the sheep and Chelsea.

* * *

For the rest of the week, I work extra hard to earn more money. I was going to need it for the surprise present I planned to get Chelsea for her birthday.

True to his word (an odd thing for a thief), Skye stayed away from Chelsea though he did hit on her maybe once or twice a day. I was always there to growl at him when he did.

Chelsea's home wasn't fixed yet, but Gannon assured me that it would be finished shortly after I left. All her animals were still well cared for by Chelsea, and Stark followed at her side loyally.

We didn't spend much time together, as I was trying to make money for the surprise present I would give her; but when we saw each other in passing, she would blush and smile at me. I would offer her a timid smile as well as a nod of my hat.

Will still hadn't been found yet and it worried me that he would try something while I was off the Island. Natalie assured me that she would keep an eye out on Chelsea for me, so I felt a bit better. Though I had to admit that going to the city was starting to become a hassle.

Late at night before I leave back to the city, I head to Chen's shop for one last minute job for Mirabelle. I enter the shop and head over to the main desk.

"Chen." I nod to him. "Package for you from Mirabelle."

Chen smiles. "Thank you Vaughn." He takes the package from me and pays me in cash; something I appreciate greatly. I was a little more than half way to my goal.

I begin to walk out of the shop as Chen walks into the back, but then I catch sight of someone.

Elliot is standing by the far wall of the shop, next to the wall with the blue feathers. He's muttering to himself and counting on his fingers.

I walk up to him and tap him once on the shoulder. He jumps about a foot in the air and gives me a look that reminds me of a deer trapped in headlights.

"V-Vaughn!" Elliot stammers out, his face darkening in embarrassment. "Wh-what are y-you d-doing here?"

I raise my eyebrows. "I was delivering a package to Chen. The better question would be, what are you doing here?"

Elliot sighs. "We've become pretty good friends, right Vaughn?"

I nod. Since Elliot was around Julia so much, I couldn't help but start to become more comfortable with him. Chelsea was defiantly making it easier for me to be friendly.

"What do you think of Julia and m-me?" He asks nervously.

I snort. "You're so sickeningly good for each other, I want to hurl every time I see you together."

Elliot pauses. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"It was."

He nods and looks back to the blue feathers. "I'm going to ask her to marry me."

I don't think I heard right. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

He turns to look at me, his eyes bright. "I'm having dinner with Mirabelle and Julia on the Starry Night Festival and I'm going to ask her to marry me then:"

I chuckle. "Well be prepared for an audience then, because Skye, Chelsea and I are all eating with you too."

His eyes widen and he swallows. "I'm still going to do it."

I nod. Elliot swallows and looks at me again. "Vaughn, if she says yes...will you be my best man?"

I'm shocked. "You want me to be your best man?"

He nods eagerly. "You're the closet guy I know on this Island; besides Denny who I'm also going to ask. Please Vaughn?"

"Uh, sure." I manage a small smile under my hat. "And don't worry, she'll say yes."

Elliot seems relieved. "I'm going to wait until the day before the festival to buy the feather. Thanks Vaughn." He smiles and leaves the shop.

I smile to myself as I begin to head down to the beach to wait for the boat. The Starry Night Festival would sure turn out to be interesting alright.


	18. The Starry Night Festival

**The Starry Night Festival**

The week in the city passed painfully slow. My every waking thought was about Chelsea, although I didn't know about my subconscious thoughts. Away from Chelsea, I'd begun to have nightmares again; only I couldn't remember what they were. I'd arranged to see a doctor when I got back.

I spent extra hours working and performed more back breaking work to earn extra cash, but I did it. I earned enough for my present I would give to Chelsea.

Softly I smile to myself as I hold the secret object hidden in my winter coat. I'd have to stop at Chen's and get some wrapping paper; I'd forgotten about it. I think I would give her the present after supper; I was planning to take her out on a walk afterwards, just the two of us.

The crisp winter wind slaps me in the face, but I don't budge from my position on the front of the dock. I knew Chelsea would be waiting for me, even though it was nearly six in the morning and I couldn't wait to see her. Just the thought of her name alone sent my heart racing and butterflies began flying in my stomach.

I was very excited for tonight. I hoped everything went well for Elliot and I prayed that Chelsea would like the present I bought her.

Soon then Island is within sight. I can see a figure standing on the beach and my heart pounds with anticipation. I'm so busy watching the ship draw closer, I barely the man that steps up beside me.

"Wonderful day isn't it?" He remarks to me. I shrug, not bothering to look at the man.

We dock on the Island and Chelsea waves from the beach. I'm about to wave back when I notice the man beside me waving to her.

"That's my girl." He says to me before flying off the boat, his blond hair a mess.

What! The! Hell! Is the only thought going through my mind as the blond guy picks Chelsea up and spins her around in a circle. My eyes narrow as I step off the boat and begin to walk to shore.

The guy lets her down when she catches sight of me. Her eyes seem to light up and she breaks out in a huge grin.

"Vaughn!" She calls to me as she releases herself from the blond guy and runs over to me.

I give her a tentative hug with my arm that wasn't holding my jacket to keep her present from falling. She hugs me around my waist and kisses my cheek gently.

"I missed you." Chelsea whispers into my ear.

"I missed you too." I tell her softly.

Then she smiles. "Vaughn, I want you to meet Mark. He's my cousin and he's going to visit for a while."

Cousin. I practically sigh in relief as I hold her closer. Now that I knew he was her cousin I take a closer look at him.

Mark had viciously messy blond hair that fell into his eyes, and he wore a blue cap backward upon his head. He wore blue overalls and a nice plain t-shirt. His eyes were also the same sparkling blue as Chelsea's.

I stick out my hand. "Vaughn."

"Mark." He smiles as he shakes my hand enthusiastically.

Chelsea beams. "Mark is a farmer in a small town, but he's very successful." Then she scowls. "Whole lot better than I am."

Mark chuckles. "Don't worry cuz. It'll all work out in time. I've just got more years of experience. And, I've got a birthday present for you!"

"Mark, you didn't have to." Chelsea tells him kindly.

"But I did!" He laughs as he takes out a package from beneath his jacket. "Happy Birthday Cuz!"

Chelsea blushes. "My birthday was three days ago." But she takes the present and opens the lid. My heart sinks in horror when I see what it is.

"Mark." She whispers in awe as she takes out the camera; the very expensive, very high tech, very professional camera. The very same one I had hidden in my jacket.

"These are supposed to cost a fortune." She whispers, her eyes wide. "I don't know if I can accept it."

Mark laughs. "Of course you can accept it! It's a birthday present and I know that you've been needing a new camera."

She laughs and hugs him. "Thank you SO much!"

I scowl and cross my arms. He may be her cousin, but I couldn't help but be jealous of him.

Suddenly Chelsea looks up and waves at someone entering the beach. I glance up and see Sabrina. My scowl deepens.

She walks up to us. "Hi Chelsea."

"Sabrina, this is Mark, my cousin."

When Mark turns to look at her fully, I can practically see the love in his eyes. Sabrina blushes and glances down at her feet.

"It's nice to meet you." Mark says to her in awe.

"Um, this may be sudden but would you like to go to the Starry Night Festival with me?" Sabrina asks him quietly as she continues to look at her feet.

Mark appears shocked and turns on Chelsea. "You planned this!"

Chelsea laughs. "Guilty as charged! Mark, you need a girlfriend! You can't just run your farm by yourself."

Mark laughs and turns back to Sabrina. "I'd love to."

She brightens and smiles. "You want me to show you around?"

He smiles at her. "I'd like that." Both of them walk away, deep in conversation.

My scowl lessens a bit, but it's still there. Chelsea turns around to look at me and frowns. "Vaughn, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I growl at her. I know I shouldn't be angry at her; she couldn't have known. But I hated that her cousin just waltzed in and gave her the same gift I had worked my butt off for two weeks, like it was no big deal.

I brush by her and begin walking. She quickly catches up to me and grabs my hand. "Vaughn, you can talk to me."

I sigh and take the camera out of my jacket. I had been planning to give it to her this evening but that plan was toast now. Chelsea gasps and delicately takes the camera from my hands.

"First picture on there is of the most beautiful girl in the world." I whisper and then continue walking. I knew what she would find. It was a picture of her. I'd gone back to her parent's empty house and searched through pictures until I found one of her. Then I got it on the camera.

I'm trudging through the snow by the Animal Shop when Chelsea catches up to me again. She's clutching the camera to her chest. I notice that she's only holding one.

There are tears in her eyes. "You must have worked so hard to afford this."

I nod. "Happy Birthday." Then I shrug and scowl. "But it doesn't matter. Your cousin already bought you it."

She gives me a mischievous grin. "Did he? I must have left it on the dock; the water might have got it."

I blink. "You tossed the other camera in the water?" I pause. "Why?"

She stands on her toes and kisses me tenderly on the lips. "Because you really mean your gift. Mark is always buying me expensive gifts because his farm made him so rich."

Then she blushes. "I liked the picture you put on it."

I smile. "You're welcome."

"Can I take your picture?" She asks shyly.

I nod and give her a slight smile while she takes my picture. She smiles as she gazes upon the frozen picture. Then she looks up at me. "I'm keeping this forever."

I hug her tightly and kiss the top of her head. "Thank you Chelsea."

She shakes her head. "I should be thanking you."

I kiss her gently on the lips. "Then we're even."

"I'm going to go take pictures of the Island. You want to come?" She perks up as she holds her camera; the one I bought.

I shake my head. "Naw, I have to visit someone first."

"Alright." She smiles and runs off in the opposite direction after waving to me.

I smile slightly to myself as I walk over to Elliot's house. Once inside, I glance around the room but no one is there. I'm about to leave when I hear a crash followed by a stream of colourful curses.

"Elliot?" I call out.

"Uh, yeah! Just a sec!" He calls back.

So I stand in the doorway and wait. A minute later Elliot emerges from the back room.

"Are you okay?" I ask him. His brow was covered with sweat and he was completely red.

"Uh, I th-think I may be c-coming down w-with s-something." He stutters as he pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"You're nervous." I state simply.

He sighs. "Yeah."

I shake my head. "Don't be. You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, you're right. But still," He sighs.

"Listen Elliot." I pause. "Do you love Julia?"

"Yes." He smiles. "And she loves me."

"Now I need to ask you a question." I pause again. This was embarrassing for me, but Julia didn't have a father to do it for her. "Have you two, um, had sex?"

Elliot turns a scarlet red. "N-no. I'm st-still a v-virgin."

I sigh. Now that was out of the way. "Elliot, don't be nervous. She'll say yes and then I'll tease you at your wedding for being such a chicken."

He let's out a hoarse laugh. "Promise?"

"Promise." I nod to him and then leave the house.

* * *

That night before supper I'm standing in the Animal Shop with Mirabelle, Julia, Elliot and Chelsea. Thankfully, Skye was off visiting Lily; though I think it was more lucky for us than her.

Chelsea is taking a picture of Elliot and Julia arm in arm. Little does she know that she'll soon be taking their wedding picture. Up against the far wall, I smile to myself. It would be good to see Julia settle down and it would give Elliot some confidence in life.

I watch Chelsea. She talks easily with everyone, even though we're all dressed up in ridiculous outfits.

Julia wore a light sparkly blue dress with no straps. It hugged her curves and hung just above her ankles.

Elliot wore some dress pants and an ironed white shirt. It looked awkward on him, but his smile made it seem more natural.

Mirabelle was the host of the party and just wore her regular clothes. She told everyone earlier that she would retreat to her room to give us "children" time alone.

Me, I wore my cowboy outfit. It was comfy and there was no way anyone was getting me in some high class fancy tux.

Chelsea was the belle of the ball though, so to speak. She had borrowed Julia's purple dress, but it looked fantastic on her. It had straps and a shawl along with it, but the silky fabric still clung to her curves and stopped just above her knees. Julia had put some makeup on her as well, and the sight took my breath away. It makes me wonder if she could wear anything that wouldn't take my breath away.

Then she walks over to me and puts her arms around me. She sighs and leans her head against my chest. I put my arm around her, peaceful in the silence.

I watch as Elliot inconspicuously asks Julia to go to the back with him for a minute. She agrees and leaves before him. Elliot looks my way and it's obvious that he's nervous. So I smile at him and nod. He smiles back, nods and then follows Julia.

"Julia's going to shriek in a second. Listen." I whisper to Chelsea who appears shocked at what I said.

Just like I'd predicted a shriek echoes through out the building. I chuckle when I hear Julia call out. "Yes! Yes! A million times yes!"

"Julia?" Mirabelle calls out, her tone just as confused as Chelsea's face looks. "Are you okay?"

Julia emerges from the back with a flustered Elliot. She's holding the blue feather in her hand.

Both Chelsea and Mirabelle gasp and rush over to Julia, who squeals again. Elliot makes his way over to me.

"Told you." I tell him, a smug look on my face.

"I-I-I know." He still looks flustered. "I can't believe it."

"Believe it. You're marrying Julia."

"I r-really am." He chuckles and let's out a huge grin. "Thanks Vaughn."

Chelsea looks over at me with a grin on her face. I smile at her. "No problem." I tell Elliot.

"All right, all right!" Mirabelle calls out to everyone. "Calm down."

Elliot walks back over to Julia and slips his arm around her waist. She sighs contently and leans on his shoulder.

"When do you want to get married?" Mirabelle asks them as Chelsea walks over to me.

"A week from now would be good." Julia says.

Chelsea shakes her head. "That's the first of Spring. There's a festival that day."

"How about the second then? That way Vaughn can come." Elliot offers as he gives me a meaningful look. I get it and nod back at him. He still wanted me to be his best man.

Everyone agrees, so their wedding is set for the second of Spring. Then Mirabelle has us all sit down to eat and pours us all drinks.

Mirabelle raises her glass of white wine in the air. "To Julia and Elliot."

"Julia and Elliot." Chelsea and I repeat as they both blush. I sip my red wine and Chelsea her chocolate milk. She'd told me earlier that she didn't want this night to be even the slightest foggy in her memory.

Then we all sit down to eat and Mirabelle sweeps out of the room. She had served stew.

As I eat, I pick around the stupid carrots inside. Chelsea slips her hand into mine under the table and smiles at me. I give her a smile back.

"Chelsea will you go to the city to help me buy a dress?" Julia asks.

Chelsea laughs. "Of course I will Jules! I still can't believe you're getting married!"

Julia giggles and throws an adoring look at Elliot. "Me neither."

Elliot leans over and kisses her on the lips. I avert my eyes and Chelsea laughs.

"Hey Vaughn, aren't you going to eat the carrots?" Julia asks me after a while.

"No." I say as I take another spoonful without the hateful orange veggie.

"But they're good for you! And they're so yummy!"

"No."

"Chelsea, do you think he should eat the carrots?"

Chelsea shakes her head. "Everyone has their dislikes. Why don't you eat the fish? It's yummy."

Julia's face scrunches up in disgust. "On second thought, never mind."

Both Chelsea and Elliot crack up, drawing smiles from Julia and I. Gently I squeeze Chelsea's hand as thanks. She returns the gesture and my heart warms.

As we eat, I think about the picture we make. Our two couples, one engaged. It made me wonder if Mirabelle would walk Julia down the aisle. She probably would. Chelsea will probably end up being the bridesmaid.

I wonder again who would walk Chelsea down the aisle when she gets married. As far as I know she didn't have other relatives. Would Mark walk her down the aisle? I don't know. I get lost in a fantasy of me marrying Chelsea.

"Vaughn." Chelsea nudges me. "Vaughn."

I start. Elliot and Julia had left without me realizing it and  
I'd been sitting there staring at my bowl full of carrots.

"Sorry." I mutter as I stand to clear away my dishes and hers.

She sighs and smiles at me. "I never thought Elliot would propose to Julia; tonight of all nights!"

I chuckle. "He sure was nervous this morning though."

She gasps. "That's who you went to see!"

I nod and she cracks up. "I guess you saw this coming huh?"

I grab her hand. "Come on."

We leave the Animal Shop and head to the small meadow where Festivals are held. Thankfully no one else was there.

Chelsea gazes up into the sky. "Vaughn, look at the sky! It's beautiful."

I look up into the sky that twinkled with the billions of stars up there. It was quite breathtaking, but I stare right into Chelsea's eyes as I speak. "It sure is."

She blushes at the compliment and leans against me. I kiss her softly, wishing I never had to tear my hard lips from her soft ones.

We lie down side by side on the grass, out hands intertwined. We don't talk, just enjoy the silence and the beauty of the stars.

My free hand finds it's way to my pocket. Inside is the ring that my mother gave me; the one Chelsea helped me find when I lost it that day so long ago. Even then I could tell I was falling in love with her.

"Look! A shooting star!" Chelsea calls out as she uses her free hand to point. "Make a wish." Her eyes close as she makes her wish.

My finger latch onto the ring when her eyes shut. I knew what my wish was. "Chelsea." I start and her eyes open.

I'm just open to pull the ring out when I hear barking. I sit up, my hand releasing the ring back into my pocket. In the distance I see Stark running towards us as fast as he can. God, even the animals were working against me! I have the most awful luck ever.

"Stark?" Chelsea yelps as he jumps on her; barking loudly.

"What is it boy?" She asks him.

He runs off a bit and then runs back to us and barks. Then he runs off again. Chelsea and I take one look at each other and then run after the dog.

Stark leads us back to Chelsea's farm. I barely have enough time to notice that Chelsea's house was fixed and bigger before Chelsea screams.

My attention snaps up. Her barn, coop and stable were all open and animals were running all over the place in panic. My eyes widen as I fully take in the scene.

Her horse, wait, Chelsea had a horse? No, not important. Her horse was neighing and kicking at a dark shape that kept lashing out at it. Three chickens were running all over the place, chirping nonstop. Wait, three? Didn't she have four? I could hear some bleating and I saw her sheep nearly frozen in the snow. Then I fully see the sight she must have screamed at. Her cow was on the ground, blood covering it with a dark shape beside it.

Stark barks again but the shapes don't move. It suddenly strikes me that the dark shapes are wild dogs. Instinctively I grab the axe that was leaned up against the house and charge the wild dogs. The moment they see me with the axe they run off though.

Chelsea runs over to the cow. I can clearly see tears leaking down her face and hear the sobs getting caught in her throat.

"Amethyst." She moans as she collapses by the dead cow.

My heart goes out to her, but I can't go to her yet. As fast as I can I gather up her sheep and put her in the barn, making sure that she was warm. Then I grab the chickens and throw them in the chicken coop. My heart drops when I see a small bloody mess of feathers in the coop. So that's what happened to the last chicken. I check the register; all the chickens looked slightly different. The dead one was Yellow; the one Chelsea tricked me into naming.

I close the door to the coop and the barn and then the stable after I lead the horse inside and clean his small wounds: the register says the horse's name is Spirit. Well he defiantly earned that name today.

Finally I head outside to Chelsea. She has her head buried in the cow's sort fur and her shoulder shake with sobs. I kneel down beside her and rub her back gently.

"Wh-why d-do all these b-bad th-things keep h-happening V-Vaughn?" She chokes out between her sobs.

My eyes narrow. Chelsea chokes on another sob. "I m-made sure the d-doors were l-locked."

If I ever see Will again I am going to murder him. Screw the legal system. Will was a dead man.

Chelsea sits up from the cow and falls into my arms. I slowly rise with her, my arms around her for comfort. We walk back to the Animal Shop with Stark following us.

I barge in without knocking, for obvious reasons, but I wish I had knocked. Stark barks loudly and Julia and Elliot spilt apart from their make out session, both looking embarrassed. But as soon as they see my raging mad face and Chelsea's grief stricken one, they rush over.

"Mirabelle!" I call loudly.

"What happened?" Elliot asks me, but I don't respond.

"Chelsea are you okay?" Julia asks Chelsea, who doesn't respond either. However her reason is that she's too busy crying.

Mirabelle enters the room and immediately rushes over to us. "Vaughn, what happened." She demands of me.

I motion for her to come closer and then I whisper to her. "Can you please go to Chelsea's farm and clean up the dead chicken in the coop and the dead cow on the snow?"

Mirabelle's face drains of all colour, just like Elliot's and Julia's. All three quickly leave the house to do as I'd asked.

I lead Chelsea over to the couch once again. The scene reminded me of what happened two weeks ago with her house; only this is worse. Stark follows us and curls up at the end of the couch.

Chelsea sniffles and looks into my eyes. "You chased off the wild dogs."

I shrug. She smiles though. "Thank you."

She wouldn't have to thank me if Will had just left her alone. Ever since I had started going out with her, bad things happened to her. All my fault. Once again something bad was happening to someone I loved because of me. I could have killed myself with the disgust I felt.

Chelsea kisses me gently on the lips. "Hey, don't look so upset. Animals will come and go, but you'll be here forever. No regrets right?" She smiles and snuggles into my chest. "I loved Amethyst. But I'll get over her."

She sighs gently and I couldn't believe how quickly she had turned her emotions around. I guess it was probably because of the anger that was apparent on my face.

"Vaughn?" She starts. "What were you going to say earlier?"

"Nothing." I tell her as I hug her tightly. "It's not important right now."

Chelsea had too much stress already. I wasn't about to add to that. But I am a patient man; I can wait.

* * *

**Ha, ha, ha. Cliffhanger! I love cliffhangers! Don't hate me. Thanks so much for getting me all the way to 88 reviews! I'm sure that when I next come to update there will be over 100 right? ;)**

**I love you all, and there should be an update within the week!**


	19. Preperations

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter guys! I was having a momentary brain fart! Well, here's the next chapter and THANKS SO MUCH for getting this story above 100 reviews! Give yourself a pat on the back! You all deserve it for sticking with me all this time! Now...on to the story!**

* * *

**Preparations**

Chelsea decides to sleep back at her home against all odds. I try and convince her to stay at the Animal Shop for that night, but she tells me that the wild dogs probably won't come back again after the scene with the axe. Little did she know that it wasn't the dogs I was worried about.

The next morning though when Chelsea came by after her chores, she told me nothing had happened; which only raised my fear of what would happen when something did.

We're standing at the dock on the beach, waiting for Julia and Elliot to arrive. I'm going to the city with Elliot to find him a nice tux and Chelsea is going to help Julia find a dress. Unfortunately, I'm also in charge of planning Elliot's bachelor party. I would imagine Chelsea was put in charge of the bachelorette party.

"How long do you think you'll take in the city to get Elliot a tux?" Chelsea asks me while we wait.

I shrug. "Half an hour to an hour."

She frowns. "You guys are lucky. I'm gonna end up with Julia in a changing room for five hours or something."

I feel bad for her, but not bad enough to switch places. "Pick your friends wisely, right?"

Chelsea laughs, throwing her head back in the process. "Like you, right?"

I lean down and kiss her gently on the lips. I don't think I would ever get tired of that magical feeling. "Like me."

She blushes and takes my hand. "Last night was fun."

I raise my eyebrows at her. That was how she was going to describe that evening? Fun?

Her eyes roll. "Besides the part where my animals were attacked and two of them killed. I had fun eating dinner together, being one of the first to know about Julia and Elliot's engagement and I had fun on our little outing. Just because something bad happens, doesn't mean you should forget the good things."

I nod. It was a wise little speech. We stand in silence for the rest of the time, while we wait for Julia and Elliot to show up.

They finally show up, both flustered for a reason I suspected but didn't ask about. We load the boat and begin to wait the ride to the city out.

As we ride both Julia and Elliot go below deck, complaining about sea sickness. I know that they're both lying but I don't really want to know what they're really doing. Chelsea told me she was going to check on them after a while. She still went even after I warned her. Oh well; pick and choose your battles.

As I lean against the rail my eyes close against the warm sea breeze and my lips twitch upwards in a small smile. Abruptly I see a flash of light from behind my closed eyes.

Confused, I open my eyes to the cloudless, light blue sky. Then there's another flash and I turn around to see the source.

Chelsea stood beside me, with her camera in her hands and a smile wide on her face. When I turn to look at her, she giggles. "I got your picture!" She flaunts.

I raise an eyebrow. "Do you?" Without her notice I take a step towards her. "Are you sure about that?"

A confused expression crosses her face and she looks down at her camera. I take that opportunity to walk up next to her and snatch the camera from her hands.

"Vaughn!" She cries out even as she laughs.

"Let's see...how do you delete a picture on here?" I ask as I pretend to fiddle around with the buttons.

"Don't you dare!" She tells me sternly.

I raise my eyebrows as I lean down towards her. "Or what?"

I'm completely caught off guard when her lips crush mine. My heart seems to have stopped in my chest as she kisses me seductively. My arms wrap around her waist and I kiss her back fiercely; completely forgetting where we were and what we were supposed to be doing.

Suddenly she breaks off the kiss and dances gracefully out of my grasp. She's laughing loudly as she waves her camera in the air.

I snort and shake my head at myself. Chelsea was a whole lot more tricky than I had ever suspected. One more thing that endeared her to me. But I didn't care about the camera anymore. I wanted to kiss her like that again.

So I walk in the opposite direction and lean over the railing again. Before I know it, she's standing next to me.

"You're not mad, are you?" Her voice wavers with worry.

I don't say anything and just look out at the ocean. Her hands lightly touch mine. "Vaughn?"

Without a word, I turn and kiss her firmly on the mouth.

Elliot and I separate from the girls, making plans to meet back at the boat at the end of the day. Within two hours of being in the city we've bought Elliot a tux, he bought rings for the wedding ceremony, and I managed to mentally plan Elliot's bachelor party.

"So what now?" Elliot asks me as he pops a piece of popcorn into his mouth. He had gotten hungry and bought a snack. Thankfully, he was willing to carry his tux as well as the rings.

"Um," I start as we begin to walk past my doctor's office "You want to accompany me to a doctor's appointment?"

He shudders. "As long as I don't have to get any needles."

We walk inside and after I tell the new receptionist who I am, we're ushered into a white room.

Elliot raises his eyebrows at me. "You come here often?" Wordlessly I nod my head.

"Vaughn!" An old man greets me as he walks into the room.

"Doctor Ray." I shake him warmly by the hand. "How are you?"

"Good, good." He smiles at me. "You seem to be unusually happy today."

My ears burn and Elliot cracks up. Ray looks at him. "Who is this?"

"My name Elliot." He says as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"He's getting married to my cousin next week." I explain to Ray.

"Congratulation!" Doctor Ray exclaims as he warmly congratulates Elliot.

After we get through all that, Doctor Ray takes some of my blood and then leaves to test it.

Elliot shudders as I tightly press a cotton ball to a vein in my arm. "Doesn't that hurt?" He asks me, his voice shaking with fear.

I shrug. "It does at first, but after a while you get used to it."

He shudders again as we wait for Doctor Ray to come back. Within twenty minutes, he returns.

"Well Vaughn." He starts off. "How have you been feeling the past couple weeks?"

I have to think about that for a minute. I was stressed because Will was dangerously stalking Chelsea. I was tired because of my nightmares. I was worried by how close I had come to proposing to Chelsea. And I was angry because my mom's death anniversary was coming soon.

"Fine." I answer.

Elliot laughs and answers instead. "He's dating a girl that he's completely in love with."

Momentarily I glare at Elliot before Dr. Ray laughs. "That might explain it. Your numbers have gone down remarkably. I'm starting to think this is a hormone related illness."

I know what that means but for some reason I don't. "So...what?"

Elliot laughs. "Dude, you're getting healthy because you're happy!"

"It's a good thing Vaughn. Eventually this could make your disease go into remission and possible kill it altogether." Dr. Ray smile at me. "If you ever experience more pain, please stop by."

He turns to leave. "I'll see you later Vaughn." Then he's gone.

Elliot pounds me on the back. "That's great news Vaughn!"

If it's such great news, why do I feel like I was just handed a death sentence?


	20. The Wedding

**Ugh, this was annoying. I had to type this entire chapter TWICE! Stupid wi-fi areas. *frown* Anyway, I would like to put out a special thank you to XxAi-HimexX who reviewed my story 15 times in one day! *applause* I have also checked out my traffic tab and I see that a total of 5, 591 people have seen this story. That's a lot! But it also means that less than 2% of everyone that has seen this has reviewed. I am very disappointed. Just one word or two will satisfy me. So please, review! It doesn't take much time! But I would like to warmly thank the 31 people who have favourited this story and the 25 people who have this on their alert. It's you guys that give me the fuel to continue writing! Stay strong!

* * *

**

**The Wedding**

After a week of slow work in the city, I find myself back on the island the day before Elliot and Julia's wedding. It struck me a bit odd that they decided to get married the day before my birthday. But I'm not complaining.

It was 10am, but I wasn't in the meadow for the Rice Cake Festival. No; instead, I'm down on the beach in Denny's house getting everything ready for Elliot's bachelor party.

I work by myself, just because it's easier. As I set up, it briefly crosses my mind that I have no idea what I was doing. Well, winging it has never failed me before. And Denny said he'd bring some stuff to help out once the Festival was over. Pierre was bringing some food too. He was also making the wedding food too. That guy really likes to cook.

About fifteen minutes after the Festival ends, I survey my work. Denny's shack was presented in a reasonable fashion and all the fishing stuff was hidden. As I look around it hits me that I have zero idea on what a bachelor party is all about.

I let out a deep breath as I lean against the wall. I take my hat off and use it to fan myself for a minute. There is no way that I am ever doing this again. Not for a million gold pieces.

Just as I place my hat back on my head, Denny bursts through the door.

"Vaughn!" He cried out to me, his eyes shining.

One of my eyebrows rises suspiciously. "Denny?"

He walks over to me and smacks me on the back. "I am a genius!"

Both of my eyebrows go up. "What crap did Lanna feed you now?"

Denny laughs. "Nothing." He pauses as he stops to think. "Yeah nothing. I meant for the party!"

"What did you do?"

He winks at me. "Wait and see!"

Half an hour later, every single male person on the Island crowded that tiny shack. Denny was walking around handing everyone drinks laced with every kind of booze he had hidden in the house. Pierre stood by a table serving out his food to people and recommending certain dishes. The native Shea came and was stuffing his face with all the food. His old man Wada stood next to him watching everything with a wary look plastered all over his wrinkled face. Chelsea's cousin Mark was attempting to break dance in the middle of the room and failing miserably because of one drink too many.

Taro had shown up too, which surprised me. But I guess he wouldn't want to miss his own grandson's bachelor party. Chen was talking with him as well as with Regis and Gannon. Even Nick, the restaurant owner, Martin and Ray, the fly fishers, and Slater and Isaac, the miners, showed up. The only male people not there was Charlie because he was eight or something and Nathan because he was a priest.

Suddenly the door opens and in walks Elliot. A cheer goes up from the crows when the groom-to-be walks in. he blushes and quickly hides among all the people.

I stand against a wall as I sip a glass of red wine. All in all, I thought it was going well; but I still didn't know what Denny's apparent genius idea was.

My thoughts drift to Chelsea. She was probably at Julia's bachelorette party. I wonder if they were doing the same thing we were. Mostly drinking and talking. Knowing my cousin they'd probably be gossiping about us.

I think back to that doctor's appointment I'd had a week ago. Neither Elliot nor I had told the girls about it when we got on the ship; but it still made me wonder. What if Dr. Ray was right and the key to my disease being put to an end was for me to become happy? Although a better question would be, is it possible for me to be happy? Lately, around Chelsea, that answer was becoming more and more often a yes.

Suddenly Elliot is right beside me. His face is flushed and his glasses are slightly askew. He holds a glass of champagne in his hands that wobbles in his trembling hands.

"Nervous?" I ask him as I pointedly look at him hands.

He puts the glass down on a table and shoves his hands into his pockets. "I think I'm going to be sick."

I wince slightly but give him an encouraging half smile. "That's how it's supposed to be."

"Really?" He seems to calm down just a bit after that.

I nod. "Besides, there's more things after that I'm sure are even more nerve-wracking."

His eyes widen as he sucks in a sharp breathe. Oops. "Shit! I forgot about that!" His breath starts to come faster, and I'm seriously thinking that he might be hyperventilating.

"Elliot! Calm down!" I tell him forcefully.

"I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready for this." He mumbles it over and over to himself until I reach over and slap him across the face.

His eyes clear and he takes in a deep shuddering breathe. "I needed that." He says calmly.

"You're welcome."

"I'm going home. I need sleep."

"Just don't forget that Denny and I will help you get ready tomorrow."

He nods, an odd calm spread over him. "Thanks again Vaughn."

I dip my hat at him as he leaves. No one notices and for that I'm thankful because Elliot did not need attention right now.

A couple hours later I find out what Denny's brilliant genius idea was when the door to the shack flies open.

I'm stunned into silence as I watch with my eyes practically popping out of their sockets. Quickly, I avert my eyes and angrily search for Denny.

I find him with Mark, both of them drunk where Pierre watches carefully. Angrily, I pull Denny aside.

"Stripers?" I practically yell his ear off. "You got stripers?"

"They gots here?" He slurs as he laughs. "Now it's a party!"

I sigh in exasperation. "I'm going home. I am not staying around for this."

Denny shrugs and stumbles to the side a bit. I catch him before he runs into Mark. "Don't get into too much trouble." I tell him gently, my anger at my friend fading. "Lanna is pretty good at figuring stuff out."

He almost seems to sober up as he walks away. Carefully avoiding the stripers, I leave the party and head back to the Animal Shop to go to bed.

I open the door of the shop quietly, hoping not to disturb anyone. To my amazement I'm greeted by soft music and over a dozen pairs of eyes staring back at me. However the pair of blue eyes I want to see aren't there. But the pair of green eyes I loathe are there as well.

"Hey brother!" Skye shouts out to me.

"Half-brother." I mutter under my breath.

He just waves it off again; like it was no big deal. His arm is around Lily, though it's obvious that she's way too intoxicated to actually know that he was doing it.

Julia giggles. "Is the bachelor party over?"

"No."

"Why on earth would you leave then dear brother?" Skye asks with a self-important smirk.

"Denny got stripers." I snort.

His face contorts and he almost seems sad that he missed the bachelor party. All the girls burst out laughing except for Lanna who jumps up and runs out of the house. That only makes the girls laugh harder and draws a smile from Skye.

"So how's your party Julia?" I ask politely as I inch my way to the hallway and my escape.

She claps her hands together. "Oh it was so much fun! We did some karaoke, had some drinks and we played a bunch of games. Right now we're playing truth or dare. Hey Vaughn, did you know that Skye has a really good singing voice?"

"Aren't you a little too old for truth or dare?" I ask, completely ignoring the comment about Skye.

They all laugh, which I find annoying. Sabrina speaks up. "A girl's never too old to play truth or dare."

I glare at her, but she just laughs. I've figured out by now that they're all drunk. Without their notice, I take a couple more steps closer to the hall.

"So Sabrina," Skye starts, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

I'm about to flee as their attention focuses back on their game. Unfortunately I'm stopped by the words that come out of Skye's evil little mouth.

"I dare you to kiss Vaughn."

A wild chorus of howls erupts from everyone except for Skye, whom I glare hatefully at. But my eyes widen in horror as Sabrina stands up and begins to walk over to me.

Without a second thought or a second glare at Skye, I run from the room; leaving the giggling girls to themselves. I slam my bedroom door and bolt it shut.

* * *

The next morning is a hectic rush. I barely have enough time to gobble down a bowl of porridge for breakfast before Mirabelle shoos me out of the house to go get Elliot ready. I collect a hung-over Denny from the beach and then we head to Elliot's.

His mom is fussing all over Natalie, getting her into her dress. Both Natalie and Chelsea are the bridesmaids. Denny and I are the best men.

In the other room Denny and I help Taro get Elliot into his tux. Thankfully, Denny is the only one out of sorts from the party last night. I guess Lanna got there before he did anything _too_ stupid.

Before I know it, Felicity and taro are rushing all of us to the church. When we get there I plop down on a bench and shut my eyes; more tired than when I went to bed last night.

"Hey there stranger."

My open as a breath-taking beautiful brunette slides in beside me. Dressed in an elegant light blue dress that made her eyes shine, she was…well, beautiful. It struck me then and there that she got even prettier every time I saw her.

I wrap my arm around Chelsea. Then I lead down and whisper in her ear. "You shouldn't look this beautiful. It's not fair to the bride."

She blushes. "You're one to talk."

I glance down at myself. Taro had forced me to wear a tux, but I still had my boots and hat on. Gently I kiss her forehead. "You look much better than I do."

She yawns suddenly and I turn to fully look at her. Abruptly the dark circles around her eyes seem to pop out at me and her face looks extremely worn.

"Are you okay?" I ask her softly.

She laughs quietly. "Just tired I guess."

"How's the bruising?"

"Gone." Her face drains of all emotion so I quickly blurt out another question.

"Is something keeping you up at night?"

"Just this scratching noise outside my house. But every time I look for it, there's nothing there."

My eyes narrow. I knew exactly who, not what, was keeping Chelsea up at night. This had to stop.

Before I can think of what to do though, we're called into the church; the wedding had begun.

Deny and I walk down the isle after Elliot does. The three of us stand at the pew while Chelsea and Natalie walk down. They stand beside us; Chelsea slips her hand into mine and smile at me.

Then Julia walks down with Mirabelle at her side and the entire church seems to hold their breath. Her gown was white and flowed far behind her while clinging to her every curve.

Elliot lifts up her veil when she comes to stand beside him. Mirabelle falls back a couple of paces and I swear I see a few tears in her eyes.

Some formalities go by and I faze out a bit. Before I know it, Nathan says. "You can kiss the bride."

Elliot turns to Julia and everyone laughs when she throws her arms around him and kisses him enthusiastically. Then everyone follows the newly weds out of the church.

Outside by the Harvest Goddess's pond, there's a huge party set up. Music blows out of speakers and people are already dancing when I step outside with Chelsea.

"May I have this dance?" Chelsea asks me like I had asked her so long ago; the day her house was ruined; the first day we were a real couple.

"Of course." I tell her as we head out into the dance area.

"I can't believe Julia and Elliot are married." Chelsea tells me as I spin her around in a circle.

I chuckle. "They probably believe it less than you do."

That makes her laugh as she takes my hand again. "Julia looked really beautiful in that dress."

I nod without answering. Her statement had made me begin to wonder what Chelsea would look like in a wedding dress.

"Are you going to be on the Island tomorrow?" She asks suddenly.

"No. it's Wednesday tomorrow. I have work." I pause as I spin her out again. When she spins back to me I continue. "Why?"

She shrugs. "No reason." But I can tell she's lying, though I don't ask further.

The song ends and she goes off to dance with the groom. I, in turn, go to dance with the bride.

"Hello Vaughn." Julia greets me as I walk up to her.

"May I have a dance with the bride?" I ask as I extend my hand.

She giggles, her hand going to her mouth. "You can have a dance with the bride and with your cousin."

Julia accepts my hand and we head out onto the floor. For a while neither of us says anything as we twirl along with everyone else.

Without warning she speaks up. "Vaughn, I'm nervous."

Why am I suddenly having Deja vu? Gently I sigh. "Why? The hard part is over."

She swallows. "I'm nervous about the part after the wedding. You know, the honeymoon?"

"Oh." I purse my lips together as I spin her around. When her free hand goes back to mine I continue. "Why are you asking me?"

Julia seems to be at a loss for words for once. Then she gathers herself. "Well you're older than me and haven't you already…umm…you know…"

I shake my head. "No Julia. I'm still a virgin."

"Oh." She really seems to be at a loss for words now.

So I speak up. "But it's okay. Elliot was nervous about the same thing last night."

"Really?" Julia's face brightens.

"Yes. Besides, when it does happen, you'll know exactly what to do."

"Really?" She repeats.

"Really."

"Thanks Vaughn." She gently kisses me cheek when the song ends. Then she heads over to Elliot, who is thanking Chelsea for the dance. Julia kisses Elliot and both of them seem happier than I've ever seen them.

I walk over to the punch, even though I don't take any. Chelsea walks up beside me and takes my hand. Even in the warm spring sun, I shiver at her touch.

She laughs. "Elliot was sure nervous."

"So was Julia."

"I guess they'll get over it soon."

I nod my head. "I guess so."

We stand and watch people dancing. Some people look like liquid as they move across the floor, but others look like it takes every once of their concentration just to not step on their partners feet. *cough* Denny. *cough*

"You want to get out of here?" Chelsea asks me softly.

The song ends and taro announces that the music will be taking a break. "Just a sec." I tell her. "I have to do something I promised to do."

She smiles and lets go of my hand as I walk over to Elliot. His arm is wrapped around Julia and both of their faces are lit up like the night sky on the Fireworks night.

"Hey Elliot, what does it feel like to be a chicken?" I tease him.

A huge smile breaks out of his face. "You remembered!"

I nod. "You bet. I don't forget my promises."

"Thanks Vaughn."

"No problem." I glance back at Chelsea, who waves at me. "Listen, I'm going to go now. So have fun."

"We will." They say in unison as they gaze at each other lovingly. I smile slightly and leave them alone.

Chelsea takes my hand and we walk in silence down to the beach. Neither of us says it, but we both want to spend as much time together as possible before I have to leave.

"Did you enjoy the wedding?" She asks me.

I nod. "You?"

She nods as well. "Yeah."

I squeeze her hand tightly and she squeezes back. When we get to the dock I wrap my arms around her in a hug; never wanting to let go.

Chelsea leans her head against my chest and I lean my head on hers. She smells amazing and her skin feels so soft.

Gently I kiss the top of her head. She leans back to look at me and I'm shocked to see tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don't want you to go." She whispers to me.

"I don't' want to either." I whisper back to her. "But I have to go."

A tear spills down her face. With my thumb, I erase the existence of it. "Don't cry Chelsea. I'll be back in a week."

"Can't you move to the Island?"

I shake my head gently. The sky around us has darkened and in the distance I can hear the boat approaching.

I gaze deep into Chelsea's eyes. Suddenly her lips are on mine in a crushing kiss. Her tongue snakes out to meet mine and her arms wraps around my neck as her fingers bury themselves in my hair. My hands are on her waist and her back, pulling her closer to me.

"Can I ask you something?" She murmurs against my lips.

"Anything." I whisper back, my trembling lips still against hers.

"Do you miss your father?"

I lean back so I can see her face, without releasing my arms wrapped around her. "Why?"

"I thought you said you'd answer anything." A playful look makes the corners of her mouth twitch upwards as she pretends to be serious.

I shrug. "Not really. I never knew the guy, so I'm not really attached to him."

"Did you ever miss him?"

"What's with all the questions?"

"Just answer. Please?"

I sigh. The please always got me. "Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like living with two parents." I pause and search her face. "But I don't think about it long, because it doesn't change anything."

"What if it could change?"

"How could it? You can't rewrite the past, no matter how much you want to. Trust me, I've tried."

A whistle blows from beside me and the captain of the boat yells for me to get on. Chelsea gives me a small smile and then wraps her arms around my neck in a hug. I hug her back, clinging to my small moment of happiness.

"You may not be able to rewrite the past, but maybe you can find a different point of view." She softly breathes into my ear as she lets go of me.

I get on the boat, still looking at her as she waves to me from the dock, her dress flying around her in the gentle ocean breeze. As the ship sails away from the Island and her figure disappears, I can't help but wonder; what did she mean?

* * *

**Okay, I know I already had a long Author's note to begin with, so I'll make this quick. I'm really excited for the next chapter; it will blow away your socks! Be prepared; you will NOT see it coming! Thanks again, and please review!**


	21. Life Adjustment

**A/N: What happens in this chapter will blow your minds. You could never guess what is going to happen in this chapter. It's very long, as a result. I hope you all like it very much! And I want to thank every single person who has reviewed this fanfic; bringing me to 142 reviews! Thanks so much! I love you all! Now...onto the story!

* * *

**

**Life Adjustment**

The morning of my birthday begins like any other day for the past season and a bit. I wake in a cold sweat from a nightmare I can't remember at five in the morning. Unable to get back to sleep, I head to the bathroom to take a steaming hot shower. Fifteen minutes later I get out of the shower and get dressed in my usual getup.

At a quarter to six I take my two regular pills along with one Tylenol pill for my headache; as it works much better than the Advil did. I drown a mug of coffee after slowly eating a bowl of porridge. Then I gather all my papers for work and leave my apartment at six thirty.

I catch a cab so I wouldn't have to breath the harsh city fumes any longer than I had to. The ride doesn't take longer than ten minutes and I arrive at work twenty minutes early. After taking out some money from my wallet, I pay the driver the bare minimum fee he required. He speeds away as I head inside the building with the extra key I had.

No one is inside the building yet, like always. For the next hour before our company really opens, I feed all the animals and give them all a good brushing. They're all happy to see me and as I watch them it strikes me that the animals probably never notice any of the other poor guys that feed them.

Other guys start trickling into the building as the morning goes along. Everyone goes off to their sections to take care of their own animals. Mine are taken care of the best, but that doesn't count for anything other than the happiness of the animal.

Around noon everyone takes a lunch break and the animals are left alone for a while. In the lunch room everyone talks to each other, laughing and making plans for later. They all can't wait for the day to be over. Me, I wish the day had never started. That was I could be back on the Island with Chelsea again.

The rest of the day passes without incident, like it always does. I spend most of my time reading a book next to my animals; just in case they need me. I also do some odd paperwork on my animals as I get them ready to be shipped off to some farm or another.

At the end of the day when I leave, I pass my boss in the hallway. He nods to me and tells me happy birthday as we pass. I nod my head back without saying a word.

I climb into another cab to take me back to my apartment. The ride goes without a hitch and without conversation. Upon arriving, I pay the cab driver again; my funds getting dangerously low. It was a good thing that it was my pay day tomorrow.

The alley to my apartment is dark, as always. My knife is in my boot, like always. But nothing bothers me, like always.

I take my key out of my pocket, not needing the one stashed in the flower pot. I enter the dark room and shut the door behind me. I let out a brief sigh. Another four days of this repetitive schedule before I got to see Chelsea again. It felt like such a long time.

Resigned, I flip the light switch on. At that exact moment, a pair of hands covers my eyes. For a moment I'm shocked and I'm about to turn and smack the person, when I recognize the feel of the hands.

"Guess who?" A soft voice whispers in my ear as soft lips gently kiss my temple.

"Julia?" I guess even though I know that's not who it.

The hands drop from my face. "I can't believe that you thought I was your c-" I cut Chelsea off in the middle of her sentence by crushing my lips against hers. God it was good to see her again.

She giggles as my arms wrap around her. Her touch feels so sweet to me; I realize that I've missed her a whole lot more than I admitted to myself.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her without taking my arms off of her waist.

"I'm not going to miss your birthday." She laughs. "Julia's watching my farm for me." She stands on her toes so that she's leaning against me. Then she kisses me lightly on the lips again. "Happy birthday cowboy."

"Thank you Chelsea." I kiss her again.

"Oh!" She breaks off and takes a long look at me. Almost nervously, she bites her bottom lip. "I have a present for you."

I sigh and shake my head, even though I'm smiling. "You didn't have to get me a present."

"Yes I did." She laughs. "No one pampers you Vaughn. You need a little love in life."

"I've got all that with you." I whisper to her, making both of us blush.

Chelsea squirms her way out of my arms and walks over to the doorway of the bathroom. "There's someone I want you to meet."

She bites her bottom lip again and I take a step forward. "Chelsea, what going on? Without answering me, Chelsea opens to the door to my bathroom.

"Seth, you can come out now." Chelsea says without taking her eyes off of me.

My eyes however, are locked on the man walking out of my bathroom. He's dressed in casual jeans and a white t-shirt with shoes. His hair is a sandy brown, but what catches my attention the most is the man's eyes. They're full of tears and they're amethyst. Just like mine.

"Vaughn." The man practically breathes out the word as he walks towards me. I know who this man is; I've seen his picture before. But there is no way that he should be alive.

"Dad?" The sounds that comes out of my throat is not my own and doesn't sound like me at all.

"Son." He practically runs over to me to give me a huge hug. I stand there, stiff as a board, as I try to think about how this was possible.

He lets go of me, both our matching eyes searching the other. There was no doubt he was my father. Our looks were way too similar for it to be coincidence. Our eye colour, our square jaw, broad shoulders, even our height.

"You're dead." The two words I just can't seem to get over come tumbling out of my mouth.

"I should be." Is his answer.

"How about you two sit down?" Chelsea suggests. "You probably have a lot to talk about. I'll make dinner." She essentially pushes the both of us onto the couch before heading off to my kitchen to make something out of my few raw ingredients stored in the fridge.

We just sit are stare at each other for a minute. Every so often he would reach out to touch my leg; as if he was scared _I_ was going to vanish at any moment.

"You died." I start again. "In that car accident. The police said that you burned to a crisp."

He shakes his head. "I think it's time you heard the truth Vaughn. Although I've only known myself for a few years now, so you'll have to bear with me."

I nod once, a bit confused. He lets out a deep breath and then begins. "I should start with the part that you know. When I found out Amy, your mother, was pregnant I was scared shitless."

I snort quietly at his language but he doesn't seem to notice. "So I did the only thing that was logical in my irrational mind at the moment. I ran." He pauses and swallows hard; as if he was trying to swallow his grief. "I wish I never had."

"But you did." I grunt out bluntly.

He nods sadly. "It was probably the worst day of my life. I drove to my brother's apartment-"

"You have a brother?" I interrupt; startled by the fact. My mom had never told me that my dad had a brother.

He shakes his head; his eyes filling with tears again. "Not anymore. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let me tell the story and then you can question it."

Seth seems to be awaiting my approval, so I give him a curt nod. He nods back and continues. "I drove to my brother's apartment and told him what had happened. He listened to me patiently as I ranted and raved around the room. When I finished he slapped me in the face and told me I was being a fool. I should be celebrating instead of mourning."

He sighs. "He was right of course. Josh was always right about everything. He drove me to a florist and I bought a bouquet of red roses, they were Amy's favourite." A slight smile tugs at his lips at the small detail about my mom. On the other hand; my throat seems to have closed off.

"I wrote a note on this card, to I could practice what I was going to say to her when I saw her. Josh helped me write it while we were in the car." He pauses and rubs both his eyes hard with his hands.

"I need to tell you something about Josh." He looks me straight in the eye. When I don't protest, he continues. "Josh looked a lot like me. We both had amethyst eyes, brown hair and we were both the same height and roughly the same weight."

He lets out a deep breath. "Anyway, while we were driving back to Amy's house," He pauses again to swallow hard. "There was an accident. Josh had looked over at my card for a mere second when it happened. This huge truck crashed into my tiny car. It was a gasoline truck."

Seth seems to be having great difficulty telling the story. He keeps taking pauses but I don't try to rush him. Abruptly there's a crash and I hear Chelsea swearing more colourfully than I knew she could.

"Chelsea are you okay?" I call out to her as I wait for Seth to be ready.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." She says this but a mere second later I hear her cuss again. "You sure?" I ask.

"Uh-huh." She calls out. I roll my eyes but don't get up to help because she stopped swearing.

Seth clears his throat a bit and I turn my attention back to him. "Our car tipped onto its side and both my brother and I were knocked out. When I came to, there was an ambulance there and someone was pulling me out of the car. For some reason, I couldn't remember anything. Not my name, what I was doing in the car or anything about my life. It was like I was born in that car accident, if you get what I'm saying."

I get it; but I do not like where this is going, so I just nod with my throat seemingly closed back up.

"The guy that pulled me out of my car tried to get me to remember anything, but I just couldn't. Once I was out of the area of the car, he put me down and went back to the car to rescue my brother. But before he got there, the car suddenly burst into flames. It was because the gasoline truck had spilled and the gas has leaked into my car's engine. Something made it spark and it became an inferno."

He swallows again. "The guy managed to get my brother out, but it was too late. He was dead, and the fire had horribly seared his features, so he was unrecognizable."

His jaw clenches in tune with his blinking eyes. What he's telling me echoes in my head and the ticking of my clock seems to reinforce every single echo.

"For some reason, the ambulance people couldn't tell the difference between us. And I couldn't remember who I was. At the hospital, I got Josh's identity and he got mine. No one could tell the difference."

He takes a deep shuddering breath. "Until a few years back. I got in another car accident. It wasn't as bad, but I was still knocked unconscious." He pauses again to wipe away a tear that beginning to form in the crevice of his eye. "When I awoke that time, I was already in an ambulance. But that time, I remembered who I was."

He shakes his head. "But it was too late. Amy was killed by the cancer she had. I've visited her grave site every day since then."

The tears streak down his face and it's my turn to swallow hard as tears begin to well up in my eyes too. "Ever since I awoke with my memory and found Amy dead, I've been searching for her child. And I hadn't had any luck until a couple days ago."

Seth pauses to glance in the direction of the kitchen where Chelsea was attempting to cook something. "I was sitting in a café, drinking a cup of coffee when this brunette sits down beside me and orders a strawberry milk latte. I began crying, because that was Amy's favourite drink."

He sniffles and we both stare at each other; both silently crying, letting the tears stroke our faces. "She turned to me and handed me a tissue to wipe up my tears. I thanked her and when I threw it out, she couldn't stop staring at me. So I asked her why she was staring."

He smiles slightly. "She told me she was staring at the colour of my eyes. It reminded her of the colour of her boyfriend's eyes. My interest perked automatically. She introduced herself as Chelsea, and told me her boyfriend's name was Vaughn. That was Amy's favourite name."

He swallows again. "We got to talking more and we managed to piece together the puzzle pieces. She told me that today was your birthday and wanted to know if I would be there. I readily agreed. And here we are."

More tears streak down his face. "Vaughn. I can't believe I found you." His words are choked as he gets them out.

"It's not your fault then." I mange to say. "It's not your fault you were gone all those years."

He sighs. "I fell like it is."

I nearly laugh with joy. I had hated my dad all my life because he had abandoned my mom and I, but he hadn't. Without a word I wrap my arms around my dad. "It's not your fault."

Sobs erupt from his throat as we both sit their comforting each other. I bury my head in his shoulder and grip my hands around him, astounded that I had a parent again. Above all odds, my dad was alive.

We let go of each other and stand up off the couch. My dad hugs me one more time and whispers in my ear. "I love you son."

"Me too dad." I tell him. I did love him; I just couldn't say the actual words. Those three words brought me too much pain when I was with Sabrina; I don't know how long it would take me to be able to say them again.

When he lets go of me that time, I glance to the side to see Chelsea leaning against the wall. Her hair was a mess and there was flour all over her, but there was a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes that made her look beautiful.

The she laughs at us. "I'm happy you both finally found each other."

"It wouldn't have been possible without you Chelsea." My dad tells her as he wipes his face free of tears. I follow his example and clear my own face of tears with the sleeve of my shirt.

"Do you guys want supper?" She asks, the smile faltering a bit from her face. She sweeps into the kitchen, leaving Seth and I to follow.

"Tada." She exclaims halfheartedly as she gestures to three plates of black mush on the table.

Oh yeah. I forgot that Chelsea can't cook to save her own skin. She's looking hopefully at me though, and I don't want to upset her.

I sit down at the table. "It looks good. What is it?" Without waiting for an answer, I pick up a spoon and shovel a bit of the charcoaled junk into my mouth.

I have to force myself not to throw up or let any sign of discomfort show on my face. Under the table I use my hidden hand to pound my stomach so that I swallow the mouthful. "It's good." I mutter out.

"You're lying. It looks awful." Her shoulders fall and she looks disappointed.

"No, it's good. Really, it's good." To try and prove myself, I take another bite of the dish.

My dad starts to laugh at me. Without saying anything he takes out his wallet and passes some cash to Chelsea. "You guys go out to dinner. I'll fix something up for myself here."

"You sure?" Chelsea asks as her brow creases.

He nods. "You won't see him for another week. I'll have him all to myself this week. And by the way he kissed you earlier; I think he wants to be with you right now."

Chelsea grins as I blush violently. I stand up and then push the chair back in. Seth waves us out of the door, not taking any sort of excuse.

We get outside and Chelsea hails us a taxi. We get in and she snuggles up to me as close as she can in a car seat.

"My cooking was bad, wasn't it?" She asks quietly.

"I thought I was going to throw up." I admit to her; which makes both of us crack up.

After a minute, I kiss her gently on her forehead; letting my lips linger there for a moment. "Thank you Chelsea."

She blushes. "You're welcome. So you understand what I said yesterday now?"

I chuckle as I remember what she said. _"You may not be able to rewrite the past, but maybe you can find a different point of view."_

"Yes, I get it now." I kiss her nose lightly. She meant looking at the story from my dad's point of view; which clears up the story a lot. As I had learned.

We get to the restaurant and are ushered inside. There weren't very many other people there, so we got served right away. We're both given glasses of red wine as we wait for our meal.

"Hey Vaughn," Chelsea starts as she waits for me to look at her. "Do you think you'll ever get married?"

I let out a deep sigh after nearly choking on my wine. "I don't know Chelsea. Why?"

"It's just that Julia's wedding was so beautiful and-" She rattles off a couple other things but I just stare at her with my eyebrows raised; waiting for the real answer.

Chelsea sighs. "I want to get married." She answers softly.

Then she looks down at her plate, like she's embarrassed. Shyly, she looks back up at me. "I'd like to have kids." She admits softly.

This time I do choke on my wine. I cover it quickly with a cough though, so she doesn't notice. My ears are flaming red though.

"I-I'm not t-trying to p-push anything onto y-you. I-I-I j-just thought you sh-sh-should know." Chelsea proceeds to blush and look back down at her plate.

Even though I was shocked at first, it wears off the second she becomes embarrassed. The corners of my lips twitch upwards as I look at her. Actually, if I thought about it hard; I kind of wanted kids too. Even though my past had been messed up, maybe I could change that for someone else.

Without a word, I reach my arm across the table to lift her head up so that she looked into my eyes. "I'm glad you told me." I tell her.

Her face brightens instantly. "Thanks for not freaking out."

I smile back and lean over the table to kiss her gently on the lips. Unfortunately for me, our meal happens to come right at that moment.

We begin to eat, both of us gazing at the other across the table. We're happy just to sit there without pointless small talk. I'm drinking in her image more than anything.

Her comment before had transported me back to thoughts I'd had during the Starry Night Festival. I'd wondered who would walk her down the isle when she got married. If I did marry her, would my dad walk her down the isle now?

I find myself staring at her without even noticing it until she blushes and looks down. I snap out of my daze and quickly finish my meal; keeping the staring to a minimum.

We get up after we're finished eating; I've already forgotten what I'd put into my mouth. Chelsea uses the money my dad gave her to pay our bill, and then we walk out of the restaurant hand in hand.

Neither of us calls a cab. We both want to spend as much time together as possible. It seems this is always how we spend out last few moments together. Always yearning for more time.

We're nearing my apartment when a thought pops into my mind. It might be because my entire life had changed that day, because it was my birthday, or because of Chelsea. Maybe all three.

I slip my hand out of Chelsea's and stop in my tracks. As she turns to look at me in confusion, I kneel down on one knee. Her hand flies to her mouth as her eyes widen in shock.

"Chelsea." I start. "Will you, will you-"

I pause again and place my hands near my boot. Then I look back to her. "Will you wait for me as I tighten my boot?"

Her hand leaves her mouth and goes to her hips as she glares at me. I rise to my feet laughing my head off. The moment I start to laugh she loses her pissed off look and moves to hug me.

"You know I can't stay mad at you when you laugh." She moans unhappily even as she smiles.

I just continue to chuckle. I hadn't played a practical joke in years; and that had been fun.

"That was mean." Chelsea pouts.

I take her chin in my hands and guide her lips to mine. I kiss her powerfully, trying to convey all my love for her in that single kiss. My hands grip her back as I pull her close to me. Her hands tangle into the mess of silver hair on my head as she kisses me back.

I break off the kiss without completely removing my lips from hers. "Can you forgive me?"

"For what?" She mumbles back, her eyes shining.

We both grin and I lean in to kiss her again.

* * *

**So...did you expect it? *laughs* I am AWESOME! hahahaha just kidding. That was conceded, wasn't it? Review and tell me what you thought! **


	22. Deteriorate

**A/N: Yay for long chapters! I hope you all like it! I'm getting close to the climax of this story. There will be about 3-5 more chapters in this story. Now I'm certain that all of you must be wondering where Will is. Hehe, you'll find out. ;) Enjoy!  


* * *

**

**Deteriorate **

I awake the next morning without opening my eyes. Routinely, I take a deep breath in and the clear cut scent of water drifts into my nose. Slowly, the rest of my senses come back to me; and I don't know whether to freak out or moan in happiness.

My eyes open to see Chelsea looking at me with a nervous look on her face. Her teeth are practically grazing on her bottom lip as she looks at me in worry. Nonchalantly, I tighten my grip around her waist and pull her just a bit closer to me.

"Hi." She squeaks out.

"Good morning Chelsea." I whisper back to her.

"I'm sorry." She squeaks out again.

"Why are you sorry?" My eyebrows crease in confusion. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But, but last night-"

I stop her words with a deep kiss that nearly makes her swoon. Gently I rub my thumb along her jaw line as I stare deep into her eyes. "Last night was the best night of my life."

I let out a gentle smile. "You realize I haven't slept in this bed for over six years?" I kiss her again. "That's because of you."

She blushes and throws the blanket over her head. I chuckle softly as I look around my bedroom. True to what I'd told her; I haven't slept in the bed for six years. But I'd sleep in it every night if I could do that again.

Chelsea emerges from beneath the blankets and lays her head on my chest. Once again, I nearly loose my breath at how perfectly she seems to fit with me. I guess we both realized that last night.

"But it was so unlike something we'd do." She complains.

"Did you not like it?" For a moment I feel like my heart was tearing in two. "We don't have to do it again."

But then she blushes and I feel better. She snuggles closer to me and wraps one of her legs around mine. "I didn't say that." She admits softly.

I kiss her deeply again. Her skin felt unbelievably smooth on mine. In my mind I could barely believe I knew what I was doing; but my body just seemed to know how to naturally react.

Gently my lips trace a trail from her shoulder all the way to her ear. She shudders beneath me, but it's not in disgust.

Abruptly there's a knocking on the door. "Chelsea! You do have a boat to catch, remember?"

Chelsea's eyes widen before me. "Shhhhhhit." She drags out the word and I just lift an eyebrow playfully at her.

My dad laughs from behind the door. "I'll drive you once you're done in there."

That makes both Chelsea and I blush. I kiss her one more time before we get out of the bed and begin to get dressed.

"Hey Chelsea?" I start as I slip on my pants and she puts on a bra. "How do you tell if you're pregnant?"

That makes her blush and she tugs a shirt over her head to hide it. I pull my own shirt on as I wait for her answer.

Even my hat is on my head when she finally responds. "You want to know if I…if I…if I'm pregnant?"

She laughs lightly to cover up her own nervousness. "I'll go check."

I raise my eyebrows. "You just happened to bring something to tell if you were pregnant?"

She shakes her head. "No. Your dad put it on the table."

With that statement, she leaves me alone in the room as she goes into the bathroom. I go out to the kitchen to find my dad drinking a cup of coffee; he was smirking to himself.

"You bought it?" I ask him as I drown my pills with another cup of coffee.

He looks at me quizzically; though probably for the pills. "Yes I did."

"Why?"

Seth begins to laugh. "Because I know that both of you are-" He pauses and chuckles to himself. "Were, virgins last night. So obviously neither of you used any sort of protection. I simply went out after you both got home and bought it, just so you could be prepared."

I roll my eyes. "Were we drunk?"

He laughs again. "I don't think you need to be drunk." He shrugs. "Sometimes it just happens."

I take a sip of my coffee. "Shouldn't you be mad at me or something? Isn't that was parents do?"

He shakes his head. "You're twenty four Vaughn. I can't exactly go ordering you around." Then he laughs again. "Besides, I was sixteen when your mother and I first had sex. This is nothing compared to that."

I shudder at the idea of my parents having sex. It's not I thought they didn't; it was just really gross to think about.

Chelsea walks out of the bathroom, and I can't help but stare at her in a new light. To me, it looked like she shone wherever she moved and she looked even more beautiful than she had yesterday.

She walks up to me with a grave expression on her face. She glances once at my dad and then she shallows hard.

"Vaughn. I'm…" She pauses and licks her lips. My eyes widen like saucers and my heart begins racing. I didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

"Are you pregnant Chelsea?" My dad asks her softly. Chelsea looks down at the ground and nods her head.

My mouth practically drops to the floor. "Are you kidding me? What are we supposed to do?"

Chelsea speaks without raising her head from looking at the floor. "Well, first you should come over here."

Then she lifts her head and takes a step towards me. "Then you can kiss me." She leans up and kisses me tenderly on the lips. Without leaning back down, she begins to whisper in my ear. "And lastly, we can call a doctor so I can say: Gotcha."

My head reclines back from her to see her face lit up with a smile. Chelsea holds up the pregnancy test and I see that in bold letters the word NEGATIVE was written across it.

"You're _not_ pregnant?" My mouth is probably gaping more that it was when I thought she _was_ pregnant.

She lets out a lovely, heavenly laugh. "Nope."

"Why would you scare me like that?"

"Hey, you scared me last night when you pretended to ask me to marry you."

"That has different!"

"Hardly."

"It is though!"

"Well, it's my revenge then."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "So you _seduced _me so that you could have a little revenge?"

The corners of her mouth twitch upwards in amusement. "No, I seduced you because I love you." She shrugs slightly. "I wanted to, and I knew you would never consent if I just told you."

"That's because I normally would have liked to marry you first."

"Well it's good to know you want to marry me, cowboy." Her smile is mischievous and doing things to my mind.

I chuckle. "But you don't have to worry about that anymore."

She laughs too. "You bet." Then she wraps her arms around my waist. "You're mine." With that she kisses me lightly on my lips. "And nothing," Again she kisses me. "Is ever," She kisses me slowly this time; rather seductively actually. "Going to change that." One more time she kisses me. "Nothing."

A moan comes from the back of my throat, and I kiss her this time; holding her to me. After a few minutes, I hear someone clearing their throat. My ears start flaming; I'd forgotten that my dad was sitting right beside me. Evidently, Chelsea had forgotten too, because I can feel her head face as her cheek brushes against mine.

"Chelsea, you do have to leave." He interrupts politely.

"Alright." She agrees, her face still blushing red. "Why don't you go out to the car and I'll meet you there?"

He laughs and shakes his head. But he does get up and begins to leave my apartment. Before he closes the door he calls out to us. "Try to keep it under half and hour!" Then the door shuts and I hear the lock click in place.

Chelsea blushes but she grabs my hand and drags me back to the bedroom.

* * *

True to our word, half an hour later my dad drives Chelsea to the boat that would take her back to the Island. I told my dad where I worked and he said he'd come visit once he was done dropping her off.

For the next week, my dad and I hang out the entire time; even while I'm working. My boss didn't mind; he was actually ecstatic to learn that my dad was alive and greeted him enthusiastically.

I learn a bunch of things about my dad. For one, I learn that Mirabelle was actually my mom's sister and not my dad's. I also learned that my dad had never met Mirabelle or Julia. I found out that my parents had known each other since they were about five years old; and my dad had been in love with her ever since.

My dad was an amazing cook; which is probably why I'm more than decent at it. Like me, he hates the rain and loves the country. He also hates mining; which gave me a smug sort of satisfaction. He also told me that he thought Chelsea was an amazing girl.

In turn, I told him all about my life. Showed him what I did for a living, and he loved the animals. I told him all about my disease, and the pills and headaches. I also told him he could come to the Island with me next time I went; that way he could meet all the people on the Island.

The day before we go to the Island, my dad and I are out at a bar. Just for a drink. He's drinking a strawberry milk latte in remembrance of my mom, though he had it laced with some alcohol. I had some red wine.

"So Vaughn," Seth begins. "You love Chelsea, don't you?"

Helplessly, I nod my head. I still couldn't actually say the words. My dad sighs and pats my back. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"Almost a full season." I answer him. "But I've known her for a little more than a year."

"Why don't you ask her to marry you then?"

I shrug slightly, my mood souring with the conversation. "Fear of rejection, I guess."

He laughs. And laughs. And laughs. Actually he laughs so hard that he falls off his chair and the bartender has to look over at him to see if he was okay. He was.

Seth gets back on his chair and calms down. I shoot a glare at him, but he just shakes it off. "Vaughn, a girl like that doesn't come along every day. I can tell that she loves you with all her heart and soul." Suddenly he chuckles. "And I could _hear_ that she was loving you with all her heart and soul when she was here."

I groan. "Dad! That's gross."

He laughs and shrugs. "Hey, I wasn't the one making love!"

"Yeah, but you were listening! That's gross!"

He just waves his hand and for a second he reminds me of Skye. "That's not the point."

"Do you know you have a step-son?" I blurt the words out. Not once this week had I mentioned Skye.

"What?" His face is one of complete shock. "Amy got married again?"

I shake my head. "She was raped." My throat seems to close up again with the talk of my mom, so I take a drink of my wine to cover it.

Seth's shoulders seem to sag. "Oh Amy."

"He's on the Island, if you want to meet him tomorrow."

He just nods; looking glum. So I try to cheer him up. "So what were you saying before?"

He seems to perk up. "Why don't you ask Chelsea to marry you? If you ask me, marriage is much better than just plain dating."

That makes me raise my eyebrows. He laughs. "Your mother and I were married for a year before I lost my memory. It was the best year of my life."

I shrug, my hand unconsciously going to the ring in my pocket. "Maybe."

* * *

The next day when I arrive on the Island, Chelsea isn't there to greet me. That strikes me as odd, but I don't have long to think about it because the next second Julia has her arms flung around me.

"Vaughn it's so good to see you!" Julia gushes out. "I can't believe how much has happened since you've been gone!"

I raise my eyebrows at her. "What happened?"

Suddenly she laughs and when she speaks, she lowers her voice. "Well for one, I hear the Elliot and I aren't the only ones who lost our virginity this week."

That makes me blush. "How did you find out?"

Julia just laughs. "You know Chelsea can't keep a secret around me when I constantly bug her."

I chuckle. "Yeah that gets really annoying."

"Hey!" She attempts to look stern with me, but for some reason she's just way too happy.

"So what else happened?" I ask her, waiting for her to finish so I could introduce her to her uncle.

"I'm pregnant!" She exclaims, a smile lighting up her whole face.

"Are you serious?" I ask her. "I've only been gone a week."

She laughs. "And I'm only a week pregnant." Julia laughs again and pats her stomach lovingly. "It's called a honeymoon you know?"

"Congrats then." It makes her face light up into an even bigger smile. "So are you living with Elliot and his family now?"

Her smile disappears. "I want to, but I just can't leave Mirabelle alone, you know?"

Suddenly, my dad coughs from behind me and a brilliant idea sparks in my mind. "Julia, you move in with Elliot. I know who'll keep Mirabelle company."

She looks at me quizzically and I turn and tap my dad on the shoulder. He turns around and Julia gasps when she sees the colour of his eyes.

"Julia. Meet your uncle-in-law. My dad."

Her mouth is gaping open. "You're dad's alive?"

I nod and my dad reaches out his hand. "I'm Seth. You must be Julia." She takes his hand and nods back, a smile twitching on her lips.

Then she turns back to me. "That was Chelsea birthday surprise for you wasn't it? She found your supposedly dead father.' She shakes her head and laughs lightly. "She wouldn't tell me what it was."

Suddenly her eyes widen and she grabs my dad's hand. "Oh my god! I've got to show you to everyone!" With that she runs off with my dad as he shoots me a look that clearly said 'HELP ME!' I just laughed and waved at him.

I reach deep into my pockets to feel the ever constant touch of the ring. All of a sudden, I knew that I could do it. Quickly I begin to walk to Chelsea's farm. I pass a bunch of people being introduced to my dad, but no one stops me.

When I reach Chelsea's farm, I don't notice anyone around. Her animals were all grazing on a huge plot of grass and all her spring crops seemed to be coming along nicely. So I decide to try the house.

Gently I wrap on the door. All of a sudden there's a huge crash. Automatically, I yank open the door to find Chelsea sprawled across the floor and her window was broken. Anxiously, I run up to her and turn her over.

Her eyes were closed but I press my fingers to her neck and I sigh out loud in relief when I feel a pulse.

Suddenly her eyes flutter open and for a second I catch a look of fear before her face softens in relief. "Vaughn."

"I'm here." I whisper back to her. "What happened?"

She takes a deep breath but then looks up and shrieks. "Vaughn look out!"

With skill that only comes with many hours of practice, I whip my knife out of my boots, spin around and throw the knife at the person behind me. Just like I'd expected, the knife lodges itself deep into Will's lower abdomen.

Will's bright blue eyes widen in shock as he falls to his knees. He's still alive though; I don't like I hit any vital organs. And it's a small knife.

"You weren't kidding about that." Will mutters, his face contorted in pain.

I snort. "You're lucky I didn't throw that at your heart."

He nods, seemingly good natured about it. I guess having lodged in your stomach changes your outlook on life.

I stand up and walk over to the phone. Quickly I dial a number. The phone barely finishes ringing once before it's picked up.

_"Chelsea?"_ It's Mirabelle's voice on the phone.

"Mirabelle, it's Vaughn." I speak into the phone as I glare at Will. He's clutching at his stomach. I cover the speaker end of the phone for a sec. "You might not want to pull that out. You might rip something out."

Will stops trying to take out my knife and I go back to my conversation. "Mirabelle, I need you to get Dr. Trent from the Hotel. And tell him to bring his medical equipment."

_"Why? Vaughn, what's going on?"_ She demands of me.

"We found Will." I answer and then hang up on her.

Both Will and Chelsea are looking at me with something a bit akin to fear. It's unnerving me a bit; but I can't back down now.

"Why are you here Will?" My voice is deadly and he visibly flinches from it.

"Well, you see, I was-" I cut him off by throwing my hand into the air. Then I speak, my eyes narrowed at him. "I want a short and simple explanation. Not a story."

He nods quickly as he eyes my boots. I bet he thought I had another knife. I didn't; but I wasn't going to correct him.

"Harassing Chelsea."

"Why?"

He shrugs slightly even as he winces at the movement. "Cause she picked you over me."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. This would never stop. No one would believe me when I told them Will has harassing Chelsea. She wouldn't admit to it because she didn't know the whole story. No one but Natalie would believe me and Will would sweet talk his way out of trouble. Then it would begin again.

I go to Chelsea and help her stand up. She gives me a shy little smile; but I can't return it. Her smile only makes my heart break even more with the thought of what I'd have to do to protect her.

Carefully I help her sit down on one of the stools by her kitchen. After checking to make sure she wasn't hurt, I slump against the wall. My head begins to pound and I take out a Tylenol pill from my pocket and swallow it.

"This is all my fault." I whisper softly.

"What is?" Chelsea asks as she turns to me.

"Everything. Your house being destroyed. Your animals being killed. This attack on your life. All the bad stuff that keeps happening to you is because of me."

"That's ridiculous."

"It's not though. Even ask the fake prince over there." I gesture to Will. "He destroyed your house. He opened your animal pens so that the wild dogs would get to them. He's even the reason that you haven't been getting a good night sleep for the past while."

Her mouth slowly opens as she stares at me and Will in disbelief. I have to swallow hard in order to continue. "And he did it because of me."

She turns to Will. "Is that true?" Wordlessly, he nods. Though I think it was because he was trying not to pass out. Blood was splattered all over him and was oozing out onto the floor. It was kind of gross, but I wasn't going to help him.

"You see. So, you see why I have to leave." I reach deep into my pockets as I say it.

"Wait," Chelsea looks at me, with genuine fear flooding into her face. "Are you breaking up with me?"

I nod. It wasn't exactly what I'd come to her house to do, but I could see now that I was fooling myself. No matter what happened, I couldn't continue living this life.

"Why?" I could hear the pleading in her voice. "Will's caught now, he can't hurt me!"

I shake my head. "I won't take that chance. If I leave you alone, then he will too." I take the few steps needed to cross over to her. Gently I take my hand out of my pocket and clasp her hand with it.

"Why are you doing this?" She looks up into my eyes, her own filling up to the brim with tears.

"Because I love you Chelsea. And I don't want you to get hurt like I am." With that, I gently kiss her mouth. I can taste the saltiness of her tears but I try to ignore it. Only when I feel my own tears mixing with hers do I end the kiss.

I turn away from her, and take my hand out of hers. But I leave the small item that was in my hand. Then I begin to walk out of the house, tears flowing freely down my face now.

But before I can open the door and leave, the door flies open and about half the Island swarms into the house. I'm pushed back up against the wall, but no one has noticed my tears.

Dr. Trent fusses over Will as everyone else prods him with questions. I can see Will looking up at Lily and she's looking down at him. The look that passes between then reminds me of the look Sabrina and Mark shared when they first met. It shocked me to realize that Will had fallen in love with Lily. Skye wouldn't like that at all.

My stomach begins to throb along with my headache. I rub my head and pop another Tylenol.

Absently, my gaze goes to Chelsea. Tears were still running down her face as she stares at my mother's diamond ring that I'd put into her hand. She glances up and her teary eyes meet mine. I quickly look away and pull my hat tighter over my eyes.

My knees begin to feel weak and I'm starting to wonder what was wrong with me. I'd taken my pills dutifully since the last accident. What was going on?

Suddenly there's a loud scream and I look over to see Dr. Trent with my knife. He had taken it out of Will's abdomen. That's got to hurt.

"Doc, you want to pass me my knife?" I call out to him.

He looks at me quizzically, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "Your knife?"

I nod; not providing an answer. He doesn't ask for one as he passes it to me. Maybe it was because he could see my tear-streaked face.

My stomach begins to throb again; harder than before. I glance over at Chelsea and without warning, I double over and hurl on the floor.

I'm slightly curious as to why no one was worried about that, but then I glance over at Dr. Trent and see that he was sewing up Will. I guess they thought I was puking at that.

Will is whimpering like a five-year old as the Doc finishes up. Lily and Julia have to hold him down so he wouldn't squirm.

"There. You're done." Dr. Trent tells him as he leans back and wipes the beads of sweat off his face. "You should lie down for a couple days and try not the get stabbed again."

Will attempts a small laugh, but he grimaces in pain instead. Lily offers to take him back to his ship and along with the help of Mirabelle and my dad, they leave the house. The only people left are Dr. Trent, Julia, Elliot, Denny, Chelsea, and I.

Dr. Trent stands up and wipes his forehead again. "Anyone want to tell me what happened?"

I barely hear what he said. Carefully, I set my bloodied knife on the counter. Then I grip the edge of the counter, my knuckles turning white.

"Chelsea?" Dr. Trent's voice is serious, but I can't seem to lift my seemingly leaden tongue to answer him.

"Chelsea, it's okay. You can tell him what happened." Julia and Elliot are trying to comfort her. Denny meanwhile is cleaning up all the broken glass from the window.

Chelsea glances up at me again. My heart throbs as I see that she's still silently crying. I can see her fist is clenched tightly and I know she's holding my ring.

Suddenly, I'm lightheaded. I blink my eyes repeatedly but it doesn't seem to do any good. I lift my hands off the counter to straighten up, but the minute I do that I can't seem to stand.

I fall to the ground with a loud crash. My head hurts worse than anything I've ever experienced before, and I don't think I could get up even if I wanted to.

Dimly I can see everyone crowded around me. My eyes frantically search for Chelsea. I find her right beside me and I can see that her hand is holding mine, even though I can't feel it. I can see tears running down her face as she says something; but whatever it is, I can't hear it.

Then my eyes flutter shut and I'm sent to the dark region of unconsciousness.

* * *

**A/N: I'm such a jerk aren't I? The start of this chapter is so happy and the end is so depressing. *pouts* Review while you wait for the next chapter! Which, btw, will be from Chelsea POV! O.o**


	23. Life To Life

**A/N: I'm mean aren't I? But I gave you more than one update in a day, so it must even out somewhere, right?...RIGHT? Okay, I apologize if this chapter gets a bit confusing**, **but it's the only chapter that will be like this, so bear with me. Yay for long chapter! :)  


* * *

**

**Life To Life**

**Chelsea's Point of View**

"Vaughn!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Vaughn don't leave me!" I'm clutching desperately at his hand; trying to will him to live. But it doesn't help. The next second, his head rolls over to the side and his body goes completely limp.

My eyes go wide in shock when his hand goes dead in mine. Julia and Elliot pull me off him and turn me around so I can't see but that doesn't mean I can't hear.

I can hear someone, probably Dr. Trent, performing CPR on him. Every now and then Denny would tell Trent that there still wasn't a pulse and the CPR would continue.

I've got tears running down my face and it feels like I've done nothing but cry for my entire life; even though it's only been about an hour since I started crying.

"I've got a pulse!" Denny cries out and I hear Dr. Trent breathe out a sigh of relief. I try to squirm out of Julia and Elliot's grasp, but they keep me firmly in place.

"He needs a hospital." Dr. Trent tells all of us, as serious as ever. "You'll have to stop protecting her; we all need to get him to the city."

Finally they release me and I turn to look at Vaughn. He still looked lifeless, but it comforted me that he still had a pulse. Everyone grabbed a part of him and we begin to rush down to the beach.

"What the hell is going on?" Natalie runs over to us.

"He needs a hospital." Dr. Trent repeats as we continue rushing towards the beach.

Julia answers her instead. "Something happened to him. We don't know what, but he stopped breathing and his pulse stopped. His pulse is back but it's weak and Dr. Trent thinks he needs a hospital." Natalie just nods her head and comes along with us.

We reach the beach and actually catch up to Will, Lily, Mirabelle and Seth. I hear Mirabelle shriek when she sees us.

"What happened?" She demands.

"We need to get him to a hospital and then we can talk." Dr. Trent tells her forcefully. Something in his voice makes her shut up.

"You can use my boat." Will tells Dr. Trent weakly. "Then we can all go."

Dr. Trent nods sharply. "That'll work."

Wordlessly, we all get onto Will's ship. Everyone was helping to carry someone, so it left out all room for talk. Once we all get inside, Vaughn and Will are placed on bed's right beside each other. I grab a chair and place it right next to Vaughn's bed. Everyone else goes into another room to talk.

Gently I take Vaughn's hand and rub my thumb all along his knuckles. Unconsciously, my other hand goes to my pocket to feel the diamond ring. His mother's ring. The one he gave me when he broke up with me.

More tears leak out of my eyes and run their familiar course down my face. I raise his hand to my lips and gently kiss the back of his hand.

Hours go by. It never really occurred to me just how far away the city was until it became a priority for me to get there.

Abruptly, I begin to yawn. I glance tiredly at the clock. It was getting late at night, and all the events of the day were beginning to wear down on me.

"You know," A voice speaks up from the bed. It was Will. "I don't think anyone would mind if you accidentally fell asleep here."

I nod, but I don't answer or give a smile. Wordlessly I climb into the bed beside Vaughn and wrap my arm protectively around him. To my relief I soon fall into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**Will's Point of View**

As the night goes by, I drift in and out of pain from my stomach. It was very much dulled from when Dr. Trent put stuff on it; and for that I was very much grateful.

I glance over to the bed beside mine. Chelsea had fallen asleep with her head in the crook of Vaughn's neck, her hair falling over her eyes.

The sight makes me feel extremely guilty. I felt so ashamed of all the things I'd done to her. She really did love Vaughn. And he loved her. I could see that now. If only I could've seen that before. And now it's my fault this happened to Vaughn.

I'd heard about Vaughn's medical condition and I'd arrived at the conclusion that the more unhappy he is; the more sick he is. Trying to protect Chelsea from me had almost killed him. Literally.

But the look in his eyes when he told Chelsea he loved her; it was something I could never begin to compete with. And the way he kissed her. It was beautiful. I could see that now. But now it was probably too late.

* * *

**Julia's Point of View**

I wake in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat from a nightmare. I've bolted upright in the bed and beside me Elliot shift and wakes up.

"Julia, what's wrong?" He mumbles as he searches for his glasses on the bedside table. Then he flicks a light on as he turns to look at me.

"I'm scared." I tell him as I lean into his chest and begin to cry. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to him. As I sob into his shoulder he murmurs words of comfort into my ear.

"It's like last summer all over again." I whisper to my husband. It was still weird to think of him like that; but it felt good too.

"And we'll get through it. Just like last summer." With that he kisses me and we both soon fall asleep again.

* * *

**Dr. Trent's Point of View**

We don't get back to the city until about six in the morning the next day and that ticks me off. Vaughn was going to be in trouble if he was left along any longer.

Despite my protests, everyone comes along with me when I take Vaughn to the hospital. Even Will comes; Lily pushes him in a wheelchair that happened to be in his ship. Chelsea stands anxiously beside Vaughn, clutching something in her hand. I don't remark on the fact that she had fallen asleep next to Vaughn last night.

I quickly rush everyone along; we take about three taxis's to get to the hospital. I can tell people are staring at us, but I'm too concerned with getting Vaughn to the hospital to care.

In my taxi, it's Vaughn, Chelsea and I. No one else would fit with Vaughn lying down across our laps.

The taxi gets stuck in a traffic jam so I use the opportunity to talk to Chelsea. Gently I turn a bit so I could see her face without disturbing Vaughn; who was still unconscious. I was beginning to worry about him.

"Chelsea, what happened in there?" I ask her gently, tears had been rolling constantly down her face since I entered her house almost twenty-four hours ago.

"Will was harassing me." She tells me so softly; I almost mistake it for the wind. "Vaughn threw his knife into Will's stomach. And they told me that Will had been stalking me ever since I broke up with him and started dating Vaughn."

She shudders and more tears fall down her face. I offer her a handkerchief, which she accepts and blows her nose into. She offers it back to me, but I shake my head and she puts into into her pocket.

"Do you know why this might have happened to Vaughn?" I ask this question very carefully.

Just to luck, she burst into tears. I sigh and rub her back in an effort to comfort her. The cab driver glances back at us, but he doesn't say anything.

Finally we get to the hospital; but I still don't have an answer.

* * *

**Elliot's Point of View**

I walk into the hospital as if in a daze. Even my deadly fear of needles couldn't faze me right now. My arm is around my wife's shoulder as I comfort her about her cousin. I can't help but be thankful though; compared to Chelsea right now, Julia might have stubbed her toe.

As we go through the hospital, I feel like I'm not connected to my body. I can see myself comforting Julia, and I'm thankful that it seems to be working. I can see Dr. Trent talking with some other doctor as they wheel Vaughn into a room, but I can't hear what they're saying.

I'm not sick. Just in shock. I couldn't believe this had happened. Just like my wife had told me in bed last night; it was last summer all over again. But this was much worse. And despite what I'd told her last night; I didn't know if things would be okay this time.

* * *

**Mirabelle's Point of View**

It's been a couple hours since we entered the hospital. Like Elliot and Seth, I was too shocked to cry. Mostly everyone else was done crying.

Julia and Elliot we sitting on a bench, their arms wrapped around each other as they whispered. Dr. Trent was gone; he was off talking to some other doctor about Vaughn. Natalie and Denny were pacing together, playing a quiet game of I-Spy to try and distract themselves. Seth sat beside me in wordless comfort that I appreciated.

But it was poor Chelsea I was most worried about. Something had happened between her and Vaughn. I don't know what it was; but it was important. She was isolated from the rest of us as she sat in a chair. Tears rolled down her face nonstop and she desperately clutched something in her hands. My attention it torn away from her when Dr. Trent returns.

"Well?" I ask anxiously. "Is he going to be okay?"

Dr. Trent sighs. "I don't know."

* * *

**Denny's Point of View**

They won't let me enter the room, and it pisses me off. Mirabelle gets in, because she's his aunt. Seth gets in because he's Vaughn's dad. Julia gets in because he's her cousin. Elliot gets in because he's _married_ to Julia. Chelsea gets in because she's Vaughn's girlfriend. And Natalie gets in because she lied and said she was his sister. But I'm just the best friend; I don't get in.

So I'm left outside to pace by myself. I'd heard some scary stuff about what was going on and I didn't know what was happening.

Dr. Trent said Vaughn was in a coma.

Seth said it couldn't be because he forgot to take his pills; he's _watched_ Vaughn take them.

I heard a bunch of other words that scared me too. Words like _brain damage, paralyzed, tumor, worms_. A bunch of different theories fly among the doctors, and it's starting to make me sick.

I can't stay here any longer. I didn't believe Vaughn was getting up.

"I'm leaving." I tell Will and Lily, interrupting their conversation, and then I grab my jacket and leave the building. I hail a taxi and take a boat back to the Island. Someone needed to inform the rest of the Island what had happened.

* * *

**Seth's Point of View**

Two days have passed since we first entered the hospital, but I refuse to leave. Chelsea doesn't leave either. Everyone else has gone back to the Island. Julia told Chelsea that she would watch over her farm.

Chelsea and I are sitting on opposite ends of the bed that Vaughn is lying down on. Her face is still wet with tears and I'm beginning to wonder what had really happened before we all got there with Dr. Trent.

"Chelsea?" I start, and her head tilts up to look at me. I'm shocked to see that her eyes look completely dead and devoid of any emotion other than loss.

"Yes? She asks, her voice barely more than a hoarse whisper.

"What happened before we got to your house the other day?"

Tears begin to flow down her face. I wince slightly at having to have caused her more pain. She was an absolutely wonderful happy person and it disturbed me to see her crying.

Chelsea doesn't answer me though. Instead she holds out her clenched fist. I knew from watching that whatever item was in her hands hadn't left her hands for two days. So I reach my hand out and she drops the item into my hand.

I withdraw my hand and I'm shocked to see Amy's wedding ring. The one I had bought for her over twenty years ago. My mouth gapes open, but then I remember one day when I was talking to Vaughn.

_"Why don't you ask Chelsea to marry you? If you ask me, marriage is much better than just plain dating."_

_ That makes Vaughn raise his eyebrows. I laugh. "Your mother and I were married for a year before I lost my memory. It was the best year of my life."_

_ He shrugged and I saw his hand go to his pocket. "Maybe."_

Was it possible that Amy gave Vaughn her wedding ring before she passed away, because she thought I was dead? It might be possible. Amy's death was a subject Vaughn and I hadn't talked about. It pained us both far too much. But he'd kept it all those years…

"Did he propose to you?" I ask her softly, she doesn't do anything; just continues staring at Vaughn.

"Did you say no?"

Chelsea shakes her head. And then looks up at me. Her face is still stained with the seemingly never-ending supply of tears.

"He broke up with me." She chokes out between her tears.

My mouth falls open; that was the last night I expected to hear. But it might explain why Vaughn was in a coma, if his illness was indeed hormone related like his doctor thought.

"Why?" I ask her. "I thought you guys were in love?"

She nods. "We are." Her voice is scratchy and I almost wish she would stop talking so I didn't have to hear it. "He broke up with me because he thought it would save me from Will."

"Will? What does he have to do with this?"

She sniffles. "Will has been harassing me ever since Vaughn and I started dating. I guess in Vaughn's mind, if he stopped dating me then I wouldn't get hurt any longer."

Then she drops her head again to gaze at Vaughn. My eyes narrow in hatred. Will and I would need to have a talk.

Gently, I place Amy's ring on the bedside table and then quietly leave the room.

* * *

**Lily's Point of View**

It's been almost a week since Will was stabbed in the stomach and Vaughn was taken to the hospital. Only Chelsea wasn't back from the hospital yet. But neither was Vaughn.

Will was finally beginning to walk again. He was unsteady because he'd been bedridden for a week; but he seemed more than happy for me to help him. And I wanted to help him too.

As we're walking to the café, Skye appears out of nowhere. He flashes me a giant smile as he walks up to us.

"Good morning beautiful. Don't you look radiant today?" Was it just me or did I feel Will tense up beside me?

"I'm not interested Skye." Will relaxes and it pleases me to think that Will was jealous for a minute.

Skye chuckles. "I didn't come here for you maiden." He nods his head politely towards Will, and then turns back to me. "I must be off. The stars are whispering me enchanting stories of places yet to visit, and to their call I must head."

"And you're telling me because?"

He snorts. "I want you to tell my darling half-brother that I've gone to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Tell him when he wakes up though."

He then smiles again at me. "Alright then? Thank you!" With that he kisses me on the cheek and then he turns around and leaves.

"I don't like him at all." Will mutters in his British accent.

I laugh. "Neither do I."

With that we continue on our way towards the café. Will blushes when I lean over to kiss him gently on the cheek as we enter.

As soon as we sit down, a shadow falls over us. I look up in surprise to see Vaughn's father. What was his name again? I think it was Seth. Yes that must be it.

"We need to talk." His gaze is as deadly as his voice. Both of which of focused on Will; who seems to be frightened out of his pants. Ever since Vaughn threw that knife in his stomach, I guess he grew a fear of his family too.

"Y-yes sir?" Will asks him.

Seth pulls up a chair. And sits dangerously close to Will. "Are you responsible for my son breaking up with Chelsea?"

Will winces and I recoil. "You broke them up?"

Will shakes his head. "I did. But not on purpose. I was mad because she rejected me and I wanted her to know how I felt. So I harassed her. Vaughn broke up with her because he connected my harassing to her dating him."

He sighs and shifts in his seat. "But then I heard Vaughn tell Chelsea that he loved her. And he kissed her like she was the most precious think in the world to him." Will turns to me. "I can't compete with that. It was then I knew I made a mistake."

Seth meanwhile, has lost his tough guy appearance. His eyes are now misty as he speaks to Will. "Vaughn said 'I love you' to Chelsea?"

Will nods wordlessly and tears begin to streak down Seth's face. He tries to laugh it off my we can all tell that it's forced. "That's the first time he's ever said those words since he and Sabrina broke up about six years ago."

Then Seth breaks down and leans his head on the table. It was very disturbing for me to see a grown man cry. It must have been for Will too, but he pats Seth's back trying to comfort him.

"I swear, I'll do anything to fix it if I can." Will whispers to Seth,

"You b-better." Seth sobs out.

It occurs to me right then that everyone was living daily with the fear that Vaughn might never wake up.

* * *

**Natalie's Point of View**

"Are you sure you're thinking straight?" I ask the furious blonde beside me. "Are you sure it's not your hormones speaking?" I point to her swollen belly.

Julia turns on me. "I'm thinking perfectly straight Natalie and you better not stop me!"

I raise my hands in defeat and then follow Julia as she storms up to Vaughn's room in the hospital. The nurse knows that we're related to Vaughn so she doesn't stop us, but I wish that she would. She doesn't.

Julia flings the door open and she sweeps inside. I walk in behind her, my heart going out to the silently crying brunette by Vaughn's bed. Julia isn't as gentle.

"Get the hell up Chelsea." Julia yells at her.

Chelsea's head snaps up and it pains me to see her always happy face stained with tears. She practically cowers as Julia starts to yell at her.

"You need to freaking take care of your own farm Chelsea! I've been watching your farm for two seasons! And I'm giving birth in one season! I can't watch it any more!"

Chelsea's teary eyes catch sight of me. "Natalie could you-"

Julia cuts her off though. "No Chelsea. Natalie can't watch your farm. You need to get your sorry ass off of that chair and do some work! Vaughn isn't going to wake up in two minutes; he's not waking up tomorrow, or next week. He's not even going to wake up next year!"

Chelsea visibly flinches at Julia's words and she glances at Vaughn. Then Julia begins to rant again. "So get your ass down to your farm and do some work because Vaughn isn't going to wake up!"

With that, Chelsea bursts into loud tears and runs out of the room.

I shoot a glare at Julia. "Good going smart one."

"What?" She seems genuinely shocked.

I let out a huge sigh and glance down at my engagement ring on my finger. I hoped to the Harvest Goddess that I wasn't as hormonal as Julia if I ever become pregnant.

"Did you know that Vaughn broke up with Chelsea right before he went into that coma? He broke up with her to save her from being hurt by Will."

Julia's expression changes from confusion to sadness faster than a traffic light in the city. "How do you know?"

"Seth told me that Chelsea told him that." I tell her as we walk out of the room to go find Chelsea.

Julia nods and rubs her stomach unconsciously. "Maybe I wasn't thinking straight."

* * *

**Chelsea's Point of View**

It's been a year and a half since Vaughn fell into a coma. So much had happened on the island since then; but if you asked me to tell you what, I wouldn't be able to.

It's midway through summer and I should be out harvesting stuff to sell for my farm, but I'm not. Selling crops and animal produce sustains me.

Instead, I'm wandering around in the forest by the Witch Princess's house. I come here to cry. Ever since Julia had yelled at me in the hospital, I haven't cried around anyone. But I still cried myself to sleep. And sometimes I just needed room to cry. So I came here.

I sniffle and wipe my nose with the back of my hand. That day kept replaying in my head over and over again like a broken record. And those three words I couldn't get out of my mind. For the first time, Vaughn had said 'I love you' to me.

I begin to wail again. It wasn't like me to cry so much, but I just couldn't help it. Abruptly, the door to the Witch Princess's house opens and she comes storming out.

Her blonde hair is a mess as she turns her ruby red eyes on me. "Can't you shut up?"

"S-sorry." I gasp out through my tears.

"Ugh." Witch Princess sighs and bows her head for a second. Then she looks up at me, with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, if I help you, will you stop coming here every day to cry?"

I sniffle one more time. "You'd help me? But you're always stirring up trouble for people."

She groans. "It's hard to think of ways to torment people when someone is crying outside of your house very day."

I manage a small smile. "Thank you."

Then she scratches the back of her neck. "Actually can you help me with an experiment too?"

I knew that Witch Princess's experiments never turned out well, but I was desperate. "Sure, anything." I nod my head eagerly.

She seems surprised but she smiles. "Excellent." All of a sudden there's a vile in her hands. She passes the vile to me. "Just drink that."

I stare at it. The vile was clear and I could see a purple slime oozing inside. As much as I don't want to drink it, I find myself popping the cork and drowning it.

The Witch Princess shudders as she takes the vile back from me. "Wow, you're really desperate aren't you?"

I nod my head helplessly. The Witch Princess just smiles and then begins to chant some words in a language that I've never heard before. Probably her magic language.

Then she stops and smiles at me. "It's done." With that she turns and begins to walk back to her house.

"Wait!" I call out to her. I can hear her groan as she turns to face me.

"What?" it's obvious that she's irritated with me.

"What did you do?"

She smiles. "Go home. Get some sleep. And stop crying. You'll find out in a couple days." She starts to leave again.

"Wait!" I call out again. "What did you make me drink?"

With that question, she turns around with a smirk on her face. "You'll see." Then she winks at me and disappears.

I wipe my face with my sleeve to clear away the tears. Then I leave the forest with the first smile on my face since Vaughn fell into his coma.

* * *

**A/N: The POV's weren't that confusing was it? I hope not. Well, I hope you all liked it, and I want to thank everyone for getting me over 150 reviews! Give yourselves a pat on the back. You deserve it!**


	24. Changes

**A/N: So sad. this is the second last chapter of the story. *sobs* I hope you all like this chapter; I thought it was rather funny, but maybe you won't find it so. Anyway; enjoy!

* * *

**

**Changes**

I let out a low groan. My head felt like someone drove a nail into my skull. It's a strain to open my eyes even the slightest bit but once my eyes are open, they're wide open.

For some reason quite unknown to me, I was lying down in a bed. How did I get in a bed? I glance about the room around me.

The walls were white and as plain as the white bed. But for some reason I was sitting up. I look down and see that I'm on a reclined bed. Well that explained one thing.

There was a small TV in the upper corner of the room but other than that there weren't any other decorations. The shades were closed so the room was pretty dark since the door was closed too. The only light came from a small bathroom off to my right. As I glance to my right, I see my cowboy hat resting on a bedside table.

Shocked, I glance down at myself to find that I'm wearing one of those ridiculous gowns that they make you wear in a hospital. That's when it hits me. I was in a hospital.

"How the hell did I get to a hospital?" I wonder to myself. "Wasn't I just at Chelsea's?"

The thought of Chelsea sends a pang through my heart and a scorching pain through my head. I throw my head backwards against the steady presence of the bed and let out a low moan of pain.

The pain subsides when I clear my head of all thoughts about Chelsea; which is _much_ easier said than done. Anxiously, I look over to my side and catch sight of the medicine cart. It was farther away than I could reach in the bed.

I shut my eyes tightly and then swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I use my hands to push myself into a completely upright position. But as soon as I do, my head gets light and stars begin to appear in my vision. Quickly, I lie back down on the bed.

So I thrust my hand out and punch the button that would call the nurse into the room. But I'm surprised when I hear a voice.

_"Yes?"_

Damn it. I'd pressed the wrong button. Oh well; this could work too. "Can you send in some morphine?" My voice sounds shaky and unstable to me and it shocks me.

_"Are you awake?"_

Was this nurse stupid? "No I'm sleepwalking. I want the medicine so I can sell it to some drug dealers outside my window."

_"I'll be there in a minute."_

I roll my eyes. This was just perfect. Silently, I glance around the room; I still didn't know how I'd even got to the hospital. And I didn't know how much time had passed. To me it seemed like I'd only just fallen into unconsciousness, but I knew from last time that that was only an illusion.

Suddenly the door opens and the light makes me blink rapidity so I can adjust. "It's about time you got here."

"Vaughn?" The voice isn't the woman's voice I'd heard on the intercom. It takes me a minute to place who the male voice belonged to, but then it hits me when the man closes the door behind him.

"Oh Dad. Sorry, I thought you were the nurse." I let out a deep breath and close my eyes briefly. It took a lot of energy just to keep them open.

"Vaughn?" He repeats, and I look back over at him. Not only had his voice sounded haunted, but he looked like he was seeing a ghost.

"Yes?" I ask back, very confused. It wasn't that hard to recognize me was it? The bright purple eyes and silver hair kind of narrowed it down a lot.

"You're awake?"

I roll my eyes. "No, I'm sleep sitting." Then I focus my gaze on him. "Why is everyone asking me if I'm awake?"

Seth lets out a deep breath and sits down on a chair that was beside my bed. He places a small box of Chinese food on the bedside table and then presses his hands tightly together.

"There's no easy way to tell you this Vaughn." He begins.

"Just say it then." I interrupt.

He lets out a deep breath. "You've been in a coma for a season less than two years."

My eyes blink, and at first I don't really understand what was going on. Then it hits me; almost like a ton of bricks. "It's fall?" My voice is unsteady and it scares me.

Seth nods sadly. "A lot has changed."

Fear suddenly grips my heart, and I lean over towards him. "What happened to Chelsea?"

His face becomes pained and he grimaces. "She's single, but…"

"But what?" My voice is anxious and the pain in my head is incredible, but I have to know.

"She's not the same." He looks at me warily, as if gauging my reaction. "She goes about her farm, taking care of her animals and her crops with remarkable diligence. She participates in all the festivals and wins almost all of them. She talks with the villagers and she laughs."

He suddenly looks sick, and I'm even more confused. "It sounds like she's fine."

Seth shakes his head. "She's not. It's like her body is there doing all her normal activities but she's not even there. Almost like she's sleepwalking. Her eyes are dead."

I lean back against the raised part of the bed. I want to close my eyes but I can't. I want to say something, but I don't know what to say.

He sighs. "You know, she told me what happened." My head turns sharply towards him as he continues. "She told me you broke up with her, and she told me why."

Suddenly the look in his eyes changes and he's looking at me in fury. "You know something Vaughn? You're selfish."

"Excuse me?" I'm surprised. Okay, that's a bit of an understatement, but you get the point.

"That's right." He nods aggressively. "You so selfish. You're so obsessed with keeping your life a cold miserable place that you're destroying everyone around you."

My mouth gapes open, but he continues right on. "Did you know that the second you went into that coma, Chelsea didn't leave your side for half a year? Julia and Natalie had to drag her out of the hospital so she would come back to her farm."

He shakes his head. "Do you have any idea what kind of love that is? No, of course you don't. Because you're too selfish to see it."

My eyes are blazing. "I'm not selfish! And I love Chelsea!"

His eyes soften for a brief second but then they regain their hard edge. "You sure about that? Then why did you giver her Amy's wedding ring when you _broke up_ with her? That's nothing but cruel."

I wince slightly and when I speak, I can't help but notice that my voice was weak. "I didn't want to leave her with nothing."

He sighs as his shoulders sag. His face has softened again as he looks at me. "You've got a great girl Vaughn. Don't lose her like I lost Amy."

I lean my head against the bed again and let out a deep breath. My eyes close and I desperately wait for the morphine.

* * *

I get out of the hospital two days later. The doctors gave me a few blood transfusions and they told me to take it easy for a while. I don't think that would be possible.

Seth doesn't tell me much else about what has changed on the Islands. He said he wants it to be a surprise. But he did tell me that Will was married to Lily now; and that he'd been paying my medical bills. That gave me hope.

Thankfully, the day I'm released is a day I don't have work, so I get on the boat to the Islands with my dad.

"Have you told anyone that I'm coming back?" I ask him as the Island comes into sight.

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, he smacks his face. "I _knew_ I forgot something!" He mumbles.

"Joy." I mutter as I look up at the clear blue sky.

We get onto the island but no one is on the beach. "Did you tell anyone that _you_ were coming back?" I mutter as we walk across the sandy beach.

He just shakes his head. I let out a deep breath and pull my Stenson closer over my eyes. From my point of view, I was lucky I could walk at all.

We enter the main part of town, but I don't see anyone. We've stopped near Mirabelle's when I hear a small giggle.

I'm startled when a little tiny girl runs out of Mirabelle's shop. She had light pink hair that falls over her shoulders and bright blue eyes. But she didn't look like she couldn't have been more than a little over a year old.

The little girl catches sight of me and falls onto her butt. Then she starts to wail and my mouth drops open in surprise when Seth picks up the little girl and she stops wailing.

Abruptly a little boy steps out of the same house. He looks about the same age as the girl. He has the same pink hair but his eyes were a chocolate brown instead.

The little boy breaks out in a smile when he sees my dad, but he ignores me completely. My dad smiles and picks up the little boy; all three of them laughing.

"Alright now. You guys don't want to hurt grandpa." A light happy voice says as a women walks out of Mirabelle's house.

My mouth gapes open at the sight of the woman. She was tall and her blond hair fell carelessly around her shoulders. She wore a plain white t-shirt that I seem to remember Elliot wearing, and plain sweat pants. Her face was smooth but had a mature look to it as she gazed upon the children.

Then a man walks out of the house. He wraps an arm around the woman's shoulders and kisses her passionately on the lips. He was dressed in casual jeans and a plain t-shirt that matched the one the woman was wearing. There was no apron tied around his waist and I could clearly see his brown eyes; as he wore no glasses.

"Okay kids, back in the house! We're having pancakes for breakfast with grandma and grandpa!" The man bends down as he says this to his children and they squeal in delight as they run inside.

With that, the man kisses his wife again and they walk inside. Seth follows them, like he's forgotten about me, and I'm left standing outside; bewildered beyond belief.

So, I carefully ease open the door and slip inside. The sweet syrupy smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs drifts to my nose and makes my stomach growl quietly at me. I shush it before I remember that it wouldn't listen to me.

I walk into the dining room to find everyone bustling around the room. The man and the woman were sitting their children into highchairs and I'm shocked when I see my dad walk up to Mirabelle and kiss her soundly on the lips.

So I do the first thing that comes to mind. I loudly clear my throat and everyone looks at me.

"Sorry to interrupt." I start as I watch all of their faces drain of colour, like they were seeing a ghost. "But I didn't want to stand outside."

"Vaughn?" The woman is the first one to speak. "Is that you?"

"If you're Julia, then I am." Then I tilt my head slightly. "But you look much different than you did when I last saw you."

Julia blushes. "Parenthood does that to you."

I gesture to the two little kids, playing with their food. "Those are yours?"

Both her and the man nod. I turn to him. "Elliot?"

He nods. I shake my head in disbelief. "You look amazing. I mean, you actually look normal."

Elliot laughs, and when he speaks I'm shocked to find that his voice is much deeper than when I last talked to him. "Thanks. You on the other hand; haven't changed at all."

No physically. But I just smile and nod. They invite me down to sit and eat breakfast. I agree, and it's then that I learn all that has changed in the Island.

I learned that Julia and Elliot's children were twins. The girl's name was Ashlyn and the boy's name was Calvin. They were a little over a year old.

Natalie married Pierre and they just had their first child a couple days ago; a little boy they named Josh.

Denny married Lanna and they announced to the whole Island that Lanna just became pregnant.

Will married Lily a season after I went to the hospital. They have a year old boy and are expecting a baby girl any week now.

Sabrina and Mark got married and she moved back with him to his farm. Regis approved of their marriage. I say good riddance.

Charlie and Eliza started "dating". While they're only 12 now, so there's no much they can do. But they still play together and they hold hands.

And my dad married Mirabelle. Turns out, Mirabelle had a crush on my dad when they were younger. My dad had liked both her and her sister, but Mirabelle was never around so he fell in love with my mom. Guess that wasn't a problem anymore.

"I guess the church has been busy." I mutter as I help Julia and Elliot wash the dishes.

They both laugh. "That's true."

They finish the dishes and I sneak out of the house. They hadn't told me anything about the person I wanted to know about the most. I was going to fix that.

First I go to Chen's shop. I needed to buy something from there before I saw Chelsea.

"Vaughn?" Chen's surprised voice greets me when I walk into the shop. I raise a finger to my lips and he stops talking.

"Hello Chen." I greet him. "His Charlie here?"

"No, he's out with Eliza." He answers as he stares at me; trying to believe what he was seeing.

I nod. "Good." Then I take some cash out of my pocket and whisper into his ear what I wanted.

Chen smiles at me and no longer seemed surprised by me being there. He goes into the back and then reappears a moment later with the item I wanted. I take it from him and hide it inside my vest.

He smiles at me again and then gestures for me to go on. I smile at him and then leave the shop.

Outside, there's no one. It kind of freaks me out because usually there's usually always someone roaming aimlessly around town. But I was gratefully too; I didn't want to be stopped.

Quickly, I make my way to Chelsea's farm. It looked similar to how I had last seen it; except that there were fall crops instead of spring ones plated right now. It sends a weird sort of pleasure through my body when I notice that she didn't have any carrots planted.

With my heart practically in my throat, I head over to her house. When I reach the door, I take a deep breath in and then step inside; completely forgetting to knock.

The door is silent, and I think that's the only reason I walk in and see Chelsea fingering my knife.

I slam the door behind me and Chelsea jumps about a foot into the air. The chair that she was sitting on gets pushed back about a yard and my knife clatters to the floor.

"Vaughn?" Her voice is shaky but I close my eyes and I take deep breath in as her sweet voice flows over me like the best medicine in the world.

"What were you doing with my knife?" I ask her quietly.

"Am I dreaming?" She asks me, completely ignoring my question.

My heart is hammering faster than I knew was possible as I walk over to her. I cup her face tenderly in my hands, relishing the way her smooth skin felt. Then I lower my head, closing my eyes in the process.

"Is this real enough for you?" I whisper to her as I descend.

The instant my lips touch hers, something powerful rises up in my chest and it feels like I can't breathe. I kiss her hard, all my longing, passion, desire and love flowing in that one kiss. My hands leave her face to encircle her waist and pull her closer to me.

She responds eagerly to me, her lips folding over mine. Her hands run up my chest and shivers are sent down my back. As she tangles her fingers into my hair, my hat is knocked onto the ground but neither of us cares.

Slowly, I move my hands down her waist. If possible, she seems to kiss me harder when she realized what I was doing. A low moan scratches its way out of the back of my throat at what she did to me.

I pick her up and spin her around the room without ending our kiss. She clutches at me desperately but unlike last time where she stopped and giggled, she only deepens our kiss and wraps her legs around my waist.

"Chelsea," I whisper hoarsely against her lips.

She moans when I say her name. Softly, she whispers just as hoarsely against my lips. "Say my name again."

"Chelsea, I love you." The words bring a blush to her face that I can feel on my own skin.

"I love you too Vaughn." Her words fill me with such an inner peace, it almost scares me. But it wasn't the time for me to be scared.

Gently I break my lips off of hers. It brings a smile to my face when I see how swollen and red her lips were. Without letting go of her, I reach into my vest and pull out the blue feather that I'd bought at Chen's shop.

"Chelsea, I'm sorry that I missed the past two years of your life. But Chelsea, I love you and I'll do anything to make it up to you. Will you please marry me?"

Her eyes light up and her face breaks out into that huge smile that was my salvation. Then she speaks. "I'll marry you on two conditions."

"What?" My eyebrows crease, wondering what on earth she wanted me to do.

"First," She starts, a smile still on her lips as she reaches into her pocket. "I get to wear this."

Chelsea pulls out my mother's wedding ring. The one I'd given her right before I went into that coma. I smile as I take the ring from her and slip it onto her finger. Gently, I kiss her hand once it's on.

"What's condition number two?" I ask her softly.

She leans forwards and begins to kiss my collar bone. A violent shiver wracks my body but it's not a bad thing. She trails the kiss all along my neck and across my jaw. Her lips delicately embrace my skin, even as it feels like she's burning me with fire. I'm breathing raggedly when her lips reach my ear.

"I still want kids." She whispers to me as she lifts her lips off my skin. Then she looks at me and raises her eyebrows to see if I understood what she was implying.

A sly grin spreads across my face. I lean forward and whisper to her. "Of course, my darling fiancé."

With that, I press my lips powerfully to hers and carry her to the bedroom.


	25. Yes I Do

**A/N: Last chapter everyone! I can't believe that this story has finally come to an end! The past two months of writing this story have been amazing you you guys make it all worthwhile. I appreciate you all more that you can imagine! Now, for the best chapter in the story; the ending!

* * *

**

**Yes I Do**

After Chelsea and I go around the Island and explain not only that I was still alive, but that we were engaged, the next week seems to go by in a flash. I'm practically in a daze as everything goes on around me. Most things were a blur; like Julia screaming her head off, reminding me of how she used to be. Or Denny taking me out to the diner for a celebration with all the other guys on the Island. Chelsea, Julia and Natalie cover all the wedding plans; I tried to help but they were fine doing it themselves. My job was not to go into another coma before the wedding.

Julia told me that, and it made everyone laugh except for me and Chelsea. But I don't think I could have even if I'd wanted to. I was happier that week than I had been in my entire life; and I hadn't gotten a headache once.

I wake in my own bed at Mirabelle's (for once) on the day of the wedding. As I come to my senses, I let out a deep breath as I fold my hands behind my head.

"Today's the day." I whisper to myself; hardly believing it myself. Today was the day I would make Chelsea my wife.

Suddenly two little laughs fill the silence of the quiet house. Quickly, I pretend to be still sleeping as Ashlyn and Calvin come running into my room.

Ashlyn's warm finger prods my nose. "Is he sleeping?"

Calvin's finger pokes my stomach. "I think so."

"Uncle Vaughn can't be sleeping!" Ashlyn cries out as she climbs on top of me. "Wake up!"

I open one of my eyes and both of them begin to giggle. "Wake up!" They both cry out in unison.

Suddenly, I'm up out of bed and I'm holding both of them upside down. They can't stop laughing as I tickle them.

"D-down!" Calvin manages to choke out between his fits of laughter.

"What do you say?" I tease them.

"P-please!" They both manage to laugh out.

I chuckle along with them as I put them on the ground. Calvin races out of the room before getting tickled again, but Ashlyn shyly stands there. My ears turn a bit red, as I was only wearing boxers, but she's probably seen her dad like that too.

"Uncle Vaughn, are getting married today?" She asks as I slip on a t-shirt that I would end up changing out of later.

A smile brightens up my face as I squat so that I can look at her at eye level. "Yes."

She puts a hand to her mouth and giggles. Briefly it crosses my mind that a one year old shouldn't know how to do that; but I guess she learned it from her mother.

"Are marrying Chelsea?"

I chuckle and pick her up. She squeals and then holds tightly around my neck when I put her on my shoulders. "Yes, I'm marrying Chelsea."

"Do you love her? Like daddy loves mommy?" She acts the question so innocently, but I still laugh.

"Maybe even more."

Ashlyn almost scoffs. "I don't believe you." With that, she begins to squirm and I let her down. She runs off, yelling to Elliot and Julia that Uncle Vaughn was a liar.

I simply chuckle and then head out to the kitchen for breakfast. My heart hurt a bit, but it was only for missing Chelsea. Normal human emotions; none related to my disease at all.

Patiently, I endure the extravagant breakfast of pancakes, sausages, bacon, and eggs topped with about a dozen types of berries and whipped cream. It's not that it wasn't good; I just was way too excited/nervous to be able to put _anything_ into my mouth. Okay, that's a lie. I can think of one thing…

Almost instantaneously after breakfast is done, Denny is at the house and he and Elliot shove me back into my room to get me ready. Julia leaves to get Natalie and then head over to Chelsea's. I wish I could go with them; but they won't let the groom see the bride until the wedding.

Despite my many protests and violent outburst, they manage to get me into a respectable navy blue tuxedo. And they hid my hat while I wasn't looking.

I glare at them both. "Is this really necessary?"

They both laugh. Denny's the one that speaks up. "Vaughn, this is going to be the happiest day of your life. And the happiest day of Chelsea's. Don't you want to look like you respect her? Even a little?"

That makes me stop complaining. I still grumble a bit under my breath, but not much. Before I know it, they're rushing me off to the church.

I try to catch a glimpse of Chelsea, but Denny and Elliot know what to expect of me and we end up going in the back way.

Just like we'd practiced the day before, the three of us stand at the alter. Denny and Elliot would be my best men and Natalie and Julia would be Chelsea's bridesmaids. Even though all of them were already married.

They're talking amongst themselves or to Nathan and Alisa, but I can't hear anything that they're saying. My knees are practically shaking and I have to keep clenching and unclenching my hands to keep them from sweating too much.

"Dude, you okay?" Denny whispers to me.

I shake my head; I couldn't say a word. Denny just laughs. "Welcome to the party."

At that exact moment, the music starts and everyone stands at attention. My hands are at my side and I try to stand as tall as possible without making myself sick.

Natalie and Julia come down the isle first; both dressed in fluorescent pink. But I barely pay them any attention when they stand near the alter and the next person walks down the isle.

My breath catches in my throat. I barely even notice my dad, dressed in a navy blue tux like mine, as he walks Chelsea down the isle; just like I'd imagined so many times.

Her dress was white and plain. It was sleeveless but clung around her neck. It fell simply, down to her ankles, but still manages to cling carefully to her every curve. Her hair was held up by a glittering blue headband (I think). Two stands of hair fell around her face, as if framing it. The tips of her hair curled and there were blue flowers stuck in her hair. Her blue eyes were shining as she focused her gaze on me, and there was a slight blush to her cheeks.

They arrive at the alter, and my dad gives her hand to me. Her hand feels soft inside of my calloused one.

"Who here today is giving away this young lady?" Nathan asks.

"I do." My dad tells him simply and then retreats back to his seat beside Mirabelle.

I clasp Chelsea's other hand in mine and turn so that we're facing each other. My breath is impossible to catch as I gaze tenderly at her. She blushes as gazes right on back at me.

"Today we are gathered to witness the union of this man, and this woman beneath the power of the Harvest Goddess." Nathan preaches first.

The Harvest Goddess? That reminds me, I hadn't heard from her in a while. She hadn't been in my dreams at all; not that I didn't appreciate that.

"If there is anyone who does not think that these to should wed; please speak now." Nathan waits and my eyes graze the rest of the church, but no one speaks.

I grin at Chelsea and she grins back; her face a bright red. Nathan laughs. "I don't think anyone here had any worries about that."

That makes me blush. First, Nathan speaks to me. "Vaughn. Do you promise to love this woman? In times of joy and times of sadness, in poverty and in wealth, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

"Yes." I say, gazing deeply into Chelsea's eyes. "I do."

She smiles up at me, and I smile back. I wanted to kiss her so bad right now. But I would have to wait just a few more minutes.

"Chelsea. Do you promise to love this man? In time of joy and times of sadness, in poverty and in wealth, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

"I do." Her shining eyes never leave mine as she speaks the two words that make my heart flood with love.

Nathan chuckles. "Calvin, the rings?"

I glance away from Chelsea for a second to see Calvin step forward with two rings on a tiny pillow. One was my mother's ring and the other was one that was similarly designed to match.

Nathan takes the rings from Calvin, who then runs back to hide behind Julia. This makes everyone in the church laugh softly, but then it becomes silent a moment later.

"Now, I want you to repeat after me." Nathan states, and we both nod. He hands Chelsea the other ring and she lets go of one of my hands to take it from him.

"Now, Chelsea, take his hand and as you repeat what I say, slip it on his finger." Chelsea nods and takes one of my hands in both of hers; my other falls to my side.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Nathan tells her softly.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Chelsea repeats as she slips the ring the ring delicately onto my finger. It's a bit cold and feels weird; but at the same time it makes my heart jump for joy.

"Your turn Vaughn." Nathan says as I take my mother's ring from him; no, not my mother's ring anymore. Chelsea's ring.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Nathan tells me exactly what he told Chelsea.

I take her small hand in mine. As I slip the ring onto her finger, I repeat the words while looking into her eyes. "With this ring, I thee wed."

A blush rises in her face. I find it quite adorable; and I'm excited for the next part.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." Nathan calls out to the entire church. Then he turns to me slightly. "You may now kiss the bride."

Now that I was given permission, I don't hesitate. I sweep her up into my arms and kiss her warmly on the mouth. Happily, I swing her all around our little spot on the alter; forgetting completely about anything other than the fact that she was now mine.

Eventually, I do have to put her down. But when I do, I wink at her and give her a smile that was full of promise of more to come. She blushes as I lead her out of the church.

Once we're outside, the bright sunshine nearly blinds me. Soon everyone is coming up to us and congratulating us. We thank them, and through the entire thing, I don't let go of Chelsea once.

Soon everyone has spoken to us, and a bunch of the guys have kissed the bride on the cheek; though I grumbled at that.

Chelsea leans against me. "That was amazing."

I chuckle and lean down to kiss her gently. "You can say that again."

Softly she laughs and wraps her arms around my neck. "That was amazing." Then she kisses me softly.

Then I feel someone tugging on my leg. I break off my kiss with Chelsea and look down to see Ashlyn.

"Ashlyn?' I start. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes are full of tears, so I reluctantly let go of Chelsea and pick her up. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" I ask her again.

The tears leak down her face, and I glance at Chelsea to see that she's just as shocked as I am. Then Ashlyn sniffles out. "You're not my uncle anymore."

That makes me laugh. "I'll always be your uncle Ashlyn."

She sniffles again. "But you're happy."

Now I'm confused. But Chelsea is the one that speaks up. "What do you mean?"

"Mommy said that uncle is never happy. I hear her talking to daddy." Her face is completely innocent even though her face is tear-streaked.

I cuddle her close to my chest. "I'll always be your uncle Ashlyn. And mommy is wrong. I'm a very happy person."

That makes her smile. She kisses me on the cheek and then leaps from my arms to go running back to Julia.

I wrap my arm around Chelsea's waist and she leans into me. "So you're a happy person now are you?"

I chuckle. "Around you, it's hard to not to be."

Abruptly I hear wedding bells ring. Both Chelsea and I are startled, and we glance over to the pond. I'm shocked to see the Harvest Goddess standing there, ringing the wedding bells that no one had thought worked.

"Congratulations you two." Her voice floats over to us, and is surprisingly easy to hear. "I just know you'll live a long and happy life together."

With that she disappears. Chelsea leans closer to me and whispers. "Did you see that?"

I nod. "Yeah. Did you?"

She nods. "Yes."

I snort, even as I stand there in amazement. "I think we were just blessed by the Harvest Goddess."

She nods and then lays her head on my chest. "It would look that way wouldn't it?"

I smile and wrap my arms around her waist, placing my hands over her stomach. It was impossible to believe how much I had changed since I arrived on this Island three years ago. Impossible to believe my dad was really alive. Impossible to believe that I wasn't sick anymore. Impossible to believe that I could feel completely happy.

But as I turn Chelsea around and kiss her deeply on the lips, I find that it was easy to believe in this impossible love she gave me.

* * *

**Me: Well, it's over now. *sighs* I guess that's it.**

***crazed fangirl come up to me with a knife* It can't be over! We must see more of Vaughn!  
**

**Me: *shakes head sadly*I'm sorry.**

**Crazed Fangirl: *holds up knife threateningly* You _must_ write a sequel! And I won't take no for an answer!**

**Me: *completely ignores the knife and smiles* A sequel? That's a great idea! **

***I hop around excitedly and hug the crazed fangirl* **

**Me: Thank you so much! I love it! I'll call it Impossible Life. Yes, that will work!**

***crazed fangirl stares at me in disbelief as I squeal _like_ a fangirl***

**Me: Oh yes; I'm also going to be posting hand-drawn pictures relating to this story on my profile soon, so please check it out! In the meantime, I must go write!**

***I rush off and leave fangirl standing there with a knife***

**Crazed Fangirl: WTF? *drops knife and walks away confused but excited for the sequel*  
**


End file.
